


Echoes of a Past Life

by TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsG



Series: Judith [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Biting, Bloodplay, Cheating, Choking, Crowley and Feelings, Crowley is growly, Demon Cure, Dirty Talk, Dominance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Language, F/M, Face-Fucking, Feelings, Fingerfucking, Forced Deep-Throating, Infertility, Jealousy, Meat suit, Mildly Dubious Consent, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Porn With Plot, Power Imbalance, Public Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Sex on the Impala, Sexual Content, Sexual Inexperience, Smut, Voice Kink, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-07-25 11:16:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 27,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7530592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsG/pseuds/TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsG
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Crowley meets someone from his past - so to speak! Things get confusing.</p>
<p>I’m trying to keep Crowley in character as much as possible but there’ll be some serious deviations along the way. Set somewhere after "King of the Damned". AU obviously - no First Blade, no Mark of Cain, Abaddon is dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A deal is made.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates Saturday!

  
[](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Gersemi/media/vlcsnap-2012-05-21-14h51m58s190_zpsispwhkq8.jpg.html)

**1**

“I want to talk to your king.”

The demon raised an elegantly plucked eyebrow. “The king doesn’t make deals anymore. He’s the _king_.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders. “No king, no deal. Your choice.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a card. “This is the hotel I’m staying at. My room number is on the back. If he wants to close, this is where he can find me. I promise it’ll be worth his time.”

The demon stared after her as she walked away, dumbfounded. That woman had balls. He didn’t look forward to petitioning the king in this matter but he was much too curious to find out what she wanted to keep this to himself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Judith sat staring into the mirror on her dresser. She had known this was a gamble but she hadn’t expected being so worried about the outcome. Her only betting chip was a demon’s natural curiosity. And no one would be as curious as the King of Hell.

Sighing, she picked up her hairbrush and started brushing her hair. It was getting too long and starting to become cumbersome. She would have to get a haircut soon.

“So why exactly do you think I’d be interested in making a deal with you?”

The brush slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor. She wanted to whip around in her chair, jump up and throw herself into his arms. She knew better though. Slowly, Judith turned around.

There he was, clad in a very expensive suit, a bored look on his face that couldn’t mask the curiosity in his eyes, inspecting his fingernails like they were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. He was obviously intrigued. And aside from the unmistakable demonic aura, he was completely, entirely unchanged.

“I...” Her voice broke. _Damn it, pull yourself together!_ She swallowed hard and made herself look him in the eye. “You don’t recognise me, do you?”

Crowley raised an eyebrow. “Should I?”

She smiled sadly. “No, probably not. That was... before your time, so to speak.”

He shifted his stance slightly, his eyes narrowing. Getting _very_ intrigued now. “Who are you?”

“I’m Judith. The wife of the poor sod you possessed.”

Genuine surprise showed on his face then. “That’s not possible.”

Judith smirked. “You of all people should know that pretty much everything is possible.” She got up, facing him fully. Her body was nearly vibrating with tension. “Finding you took me an awfully long time.”

Crowley cocked his head to the side, studying her. “You know he’s not in here anymore, do you? Kicking me out will not bring him back. It’ll just kill this body.”

She nodded tersely. “I know. That’s not what I was planning on doing, and why I want to make this deal.”

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “I get your soul. What do you get?”

Deep breath. “You.”

“Darling, I’m afraid you’ve lost me.”

Judith had to look away then. “I... I want you to come visit me. Once a week or whatever is agreeable to you. Regularly. And...” Her cheeks started to burn. “I miss my husband. I know it’s been a very long time but...” Pulling together her courage, she looked straight at him again. “I know what happened in that church. With the Winchesters.”

His eyes hardened. “Do you now.”

“There’s a grapevine. People talk. Demons more than anybody.” She walked over to the bed, sat down. Rubbed her hands down her thighs. “I know that you’re probably the only demon who truly knows what it’s like to be lonely.”

“Oh please.” Crowley scoffed. “Loneliness is a human thing.”

“Is it, though?” Judith looked up at him. “It’s lonely at the top. Isn’t that what people say? And where would it be lonelier than on Hell’s throne.”

He picked an imaginary piece of lint off his sleeve, feigning nonchalance. “Demons fear me. That is far better than being loved.”

She laughed bitterly. “Alright then. Leave. Forget about the deal.” Her face hardening, she turned away from him. 

Crowley studied her. Saying he was intrigued was an understatement, to say the least. He knew almost nothing about the meat suit he had been occupying for so long, and he was mildly curious about him, but the woman was far more interesting. It had been so long ago that he’d taken over this body and yet, here she was.

Folding his arms in front of him, he leaned against the desk. “Alright, I’ll play.”

Judith turned her head, eyes narrowed. “Really?”

“Standard ten year contract. I keep up my end of the bargain, you keep up yours. Non-disclosure agreement included.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “Why would we need a non-disclosure agreement?”

“Can’t have you blabbing about the colour of my socks, can we?” He smirked.

She rolled her eyes. “Let me have a wild guess. They’re black?”

“Well... yes. Am I that transparent?”

“Let’s just say there’s a sort of pattern when it comes to your wardrobe choices.”

Crowley shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t argue with that.” He walked over to where she sat, making a note of how she flinched when he reached out and placed his hand on the back of her neck. “You know how we seal the deal?” She nodded, eyes wide, and he smirked. She may have been able to cheat death but she was still afraid of him. Good.

Judith stared up at him, acutely aware of his fingers at the nape of her neck, of the way he had so casually stepped between her knees as if he’d done it a thousand times before (and how her knees had parted to let him stand there), of his scent washing over her, so much like she remembered but mixed with something else, something earthy and bitter and primal.

He leaned down and she couldn’t stop her eyes from slipping closed. A shiver ran down her spine when his breath ghosted over her face, and then his lips touched hers and her mind went pleasantly blank.

It wasn’t the passive press of lips to lips she had seen at other deals, nor the passionate, almost over the top shoving-your-tongue-down-your-partner’s-throat she sometimes saw young couples perform whenever she went out. It was slow, almost intimate, and nothing like what she had expected from him. Everything she had heard about him told her he was a brutal man who relished violence in any form, and this... tenderness surprised her. He tilted her head back to get better access, and she reached for his arms to steady herself, the expensive fabric of his jacket soft under her fingers. So many contradictions.

Crowley drew back, watching her. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted and glistening. A pretty sight. He smiled lopsidedly. “I’ll have my underlings draw up a schedule. I must admit I’m looking forward to hearing all about how you got to be here.”

His fingers brushed her cheekbone, and then she was grasping thin air. He was gone.

Judith let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. She let herself fall backwards onto the bed, hiding her face in her hands. “This was a spectacularly stupid idea.”


	2. The first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! I've planned most of the chapters (something I've never actually done before) and if these guys behave and work with me, we should end up at 17 chapters. Fingers crossed!
> 
> Enjoy!

**2**

Two days later, a sheet of paper appeared on her desk, perfectly average-looking, with dates and times printed on it. Seeing proof of the deal presented in such an ordinary, business-like fashion made the whole affair appear almost comical. For all somebody else would know, this could be a timetable for the garbage pick-up. The only thing firmly anchoring it was the big cursive “C” scrawled at the bottom in dark black ink.

Judith’s eyes zeroed in on the date at the top, and her heart skipped a beat. 

Tomorrow.

“Oh good. That’ll only give me 28 hours to agonise over all the things I’m going to do wrong.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“This is ridiculous.”

Judith stared at her reflection, hands planted on the basin in front of her. She had hardly slept and there were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair had decided that today was the perfect day for a bad hair day.

But what annoyed her most was that she actually _cared_ about those things. It wasn’t like this was a date or anything of the sort. She would ask him to hold her, and she would probably cry, and then he would leave. Nothing more.

She would definitely ignore the _need_ pooling in her belly, the need she had thought lost after decades of loneliness. That had reared its head when he had kissed her as if it had never been gone.

Expecting anything beyond what they had agreed on would only be setting herself up for disappointment, and she had had several lifetimes of that already.

Squaring her shoulders, she put on concealer and dragged her brush through her hair, taming it enough to put into a pony tail. That would have to do.

Half an hour later she sat in one of the large wing-back chairs by the window, legs drawn up under her, and waited. She was determined to stay calm, to not let him see how much he affected her. He couldn’t know. _‘He’s dangerous,’_ she reminded herself.

“Missed me?”

His voice at her back made her jump, her heart racing. “Crowley! You scared me.”

He smirked. “Just doing my job.”

Judith took a deep breath. “Oh? Scare me into an early grave and there goes our contract.”

Crowley shrugged. “What’s one soul to the King of Hell.”

She narrowed her eyes but then decided to let the comment go. Obviously it meant quite a bit to him if he took the time out of his no doubt busy schedule to fulfil a regular deal. Clearing her throat, she gestured at the bed. “Just... lie down, please.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re very forward.”

“And you’re not particularly funny when you’re trying to be clever.”

“Unlike other people, I’m not ‘trying’ to be clever. I actually am.” That smirk again that did things to her insides, but he sat on the bed regardless, lying back against the pillows. 

Judith smiled as she laid down next to him. “Aren’t you afraid you’re going to crease your suit?”

“Sweetheart, this suit costs more than some people make in a year. If it creases from lying in bed for a while, it’s not worth a penny of what other people would pay for it.” He smirked. Judith rolled her eyes at him.

“Shoes off. You’ll ruin the sheets.”

He made a scandalised face. “I never take my shoes off in front of people I haven’t slept with.”

Propping her head up on one hand, she poked him in the chest with the other. “Well, technically, you have slept with me.” Oh, how her heart fluttered at the memories...

He actually laughed at that, and kicked off his shoes. “Fair enough.”

Judith watched as he settled against the headboard, studying his face. “Why did you agree to do this?”

Crowley patted the bed next to him, and she scooted closer until she could rest her head on his chest. Her heart was in her throat. Crowley pulled her against him, resting his hand on her ribs. “To be brutally honest, and I’m so very good at being brutal, it’s an easy job. I have nothing to lose from this deal, and even the King needs a break every now and then. Running Hell is an awful lot of work.” He looked down at her. She had buried her face in his suit jacket, her fingers whitening from the tightness of her grip where she held onto it. “Did you expect something nefarious?”

Her shoulders started shaking, and it was a moment until he realised she was laughing silently. He grinned. “Now what’s so funny?”

She raised her head to look at him, grinning. “So you’re basically risking your reputation so you can get some time off?”

“My reputation is shit anyway since I’ve associated myself with the Winchesters. Cuddling with a human woman won’t do much in the way of tarnishing it.” He smirked. This was more fun than it had any right to be.

Judith stared at him. The way he kept surprising her caught her off-guard. She hadn’t expected any of this. Not that he would agree to the deal. That he would be so... normal, in a way. She certainly hadn’t expected even a shred of honesty from him.

She felt her cheeks flush again and quickly turned her face away, resting her head on his chest. “Can we... just stay like this? For a bit?”

He stroked her side, pulling her towards him a bit more. “This is your party, sweetheart. You make the rules.”

With a snap of his fingers, the light went out and the room was plunged into darkness, only the light filtering in through the window casting shapes on the wall opposite. Judith stared at them, hardly able to believe that what she had worked for for so long was actually happening. His chest rose and fell with his breath, his heart was slow and steady under her hand.

He was here.

Sighing deeply, she snuggled against him, her eyes drifting closed, and soon sleep took her.


	3. Crowley gets an answer, and another question comes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Just wanted to thank everyone who subscribed and left kudos! Feel free to leave a comment down below, they give me life! <3

**3**

When Judith woke up the next morning, Crowley was gone. She had expected as much.

What she hadn’t expected was how content she felt. Just lying next to him, breathing in his scent, feeling his heartbeat under her palm... It wasn’t much but it had been more than she had hoped for.

If she was honest with herself, things could go sideways at any moment. He could grow weary of their arrangement and trick her into giving up her soul earlier than agreed upon. She had seen it happen before, and he hadn’t become King of the Crossroads because he was bad at his job. She would have to be very careful.

Stretching, she sat up and yawned. She hadn’t slept this well in... probably decades.

After a quick trip to the bathroom she picked up the schedule. In her previous excitement, she had not paid attention to how often these visits would happen, and was both pleasantly surprised and worried. Every three days, always in the evening. This was much more than she had asked for. Why would he agree to this?

Worrying her lip with her teeth, she stared out of the window. Only time would tell.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Crowley’s next visits were much like the first. He would run his mouth, she told him to shut up, he would hold her and she fell asleep in his arms, strangely at peace.

Three weeks after their first meeting, as Judith lay with her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his heartbeat, his hand moved from its usual place on her ribs and stroked her hair away from her face.

“I’m a curious person. So I did some digging. There is no previous contract, obviously, or we wouldn’t be here.” His other hand grasped her chin, turning her face to look at him. “How can you still be alive?”

She had dreaded this question, though she obviously knew it would come up. There was no easy answer. “It’s complicated.”

He smirked, his eyes glistening in the light coming in through the window. “Isn’t it always.”

She had to smile at that. “I suppose it is.” Her fingers found the lapel of his suit jacket, stroking along the edge. “My grandmother... She was a witch.” His chest rose with a sharp intake of breath, and she bit her lip. “Not a particularly powerful one. But when we realised what had happened with... my husband, she found a way to keep me alive until I... until I could find him and... get him back.”

Crowley’s eyes narrowed. Witches. Of course. He vaguely knew of the spell the old woman must have used but he had never heard of it lasting for such a long time. This was getting more and more interesting. “So you have no clue how long the spell will actually last?”

“Not really, no. I suppose... since he’s... gone,” her voice trembled way too much over that word, “it’s kind of open-ended.”

“Hmm.” 

His fingers had become tangled in her hair, absent-mindedly grazing against her head every now and then, and it sent delightful shivers down her spine. Her grip on his suit tightened.

Crowley looked down at her, at the way she held onto him, breathing in her scent. _Ah, yes._ There it was.

Ever since that first evening, he had asked himself why, exactly, he had agreed to her request. He could’ve easily said no, and nothing would have changed for him. Curiosity wasn’t all there was to it. In any other case, he would have settled on the answer being simply getting off on the power he had over her. And that rush was there.

But there was something else. He couldn’t put his finger on it, and there were few things he hated as much as not knowing.

He withdrew his hand from her hair, noting her sigh (of relief? disappointment?), and returned it to its place on her ribcage. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. We can talk about this some other time.”

She was still tightly holding onto his jacket when her breathing evened out, her lips parted slightly, and it was with a certain amount of unease that Crowley noted how much he liked this. He was certain that she had no idea how vulnerable she really was, how dangerous this situation could become for her in the blink of an eye. She was right, killing her early would void their contract and she would go to Heaven. But that was a rather weak insurance policy. Her entire plan probably banked on him being greedy – something he readily admitted to – but he wasn’t the King of Hell for nothing.

Carefully, he brushed a strand of hair that had slipped down away from her cheek, softly stroking his knuckles along her cheekbone. “Whatever am I going to do with you, hm?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Dude, I just had _the_ weirdest conversation.” Dean dropped into a chair, staring into the distance.

Sam unscrewed a bottle of beer and set it in front of his brother before taking his own seat. “Who with?”

“Crowley called me. Apparently, his Royal Assness has lady problems.”

Sam nearly choked on his beer. “And he calls _you_ for relationship advice? Smart.”

Dean made a face. “Funny.” He took a swig. “He wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the details but it sounded like it’s an ex of some sort.”

“That’s always a barrel of laughs. I don’t even want to imagine what a demonic ex would be like.”

They looked at each other. 

“Ruby.”

“Probably exactly like Ruby, yeah.”

Sam leaned back in his chair, scratching the back of his head. “I’m not entirely sure I want to know how demonic relationships even work.”

Dean’s face clouded. “You don’t want to, believe me.”

“Dean...”

“It’s okay. I mean, we’re talking about a guy who sold his soul to gain three inches. He’s a sadistic bastard but he’s also pretty simple in that regard. I suppose.” He shrugged. “In any case, Crowley with a girlfriend can’t be much worse than Crowley without, right?”


	4. More answers, heartache, and a phone call.

**4**

Another week passed, and Judith ignored the elephant in the room, while Crowley simply waited. He wasn’t a particularly patient man but he knew how to play the game, probably better than anyone. He took to taking off his suit jacket before settling on the bed after her hand kept finding its way underneath, her fingers circling the buttons of his shirt.

Had he been honest with himself, he would have had to admit that he liked how her touch made him feel. But he was rarely honest with himself.

He had also started to teleport to the hotel’s hallway and knocking on her door instead of jumping directly into her room. It wasn’t part of the deal but he actually enjoyed this – the way she opened the door, almost shyly, tucking loose strands of her dark hair behind her ear as she stepped aside to let him in. It all felt sickeningly normal. Human even. He had managed to get off the human blood but some of its effects apparently still lingered. That was the only logical explanation.

There couldn’t be any other reason.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“His name was Jonathan.”

Crowley paused halfway through putting his jacket on a clothes hanger. Judith cocked her head, watching how the muscles of his back flexed under his shirt, how his shoulders became rigid.

“I know.” He put away his jacket and turned to face her.

“You do?”

He nodded, walking over to the bed and sitting down before kicking off his shoes. “I don’t know a lot about him. Was too busy getting rid of him and also _supremely_ uninterested in anything besides possessing his body but I learned that much about him.” He sat back against the headboard and beckoned her over.

Judith lay in the crook of his arm, staring straight at the ceiling. “Do you... Should I tell you? About him?”

“If it puts your mind at rest. I can see you’re dying to talk about him.” He brushed her hair away from her forehead, sliding his fingertips through it. 

She sighed deeply. “He was married before. To my cousin, Rachel. She died in childbirth. The baby, too.”

“That’s... unfortunate.”

“You could say that. He was my father’s business partner. They ran the agency together. Novels, mostly. My parents and aunt thought it would be a brilliant idea if I married him after Rachel died. I think they just wanted to keep her dowry in the family.”

“Penny pinching relatives are the worst. I should know, I was very good a penny pinching.”

Judith smiled, rolling onto her side and letting her fingers trace the lines on his palm. “I didn’t know him very well. He was a bit older than me and we didn’t seem to have much in common.” Tears pricked her eyes, and she wiped them away almost angrily. “He was a good man. Kind. Not a good businessman but... I didn’t mind. I was, of course, expected to have children, but I never even got pregnant. My family was so angry. My grandmother did everything she could to help me. I think she made me drink my own weight in fertility teas.” He chuckled at that, and she had to smile. “Jonathan always had my back. He defended me against my father. Basically told him to shove it up his ass and leave me alone.”

Crowley smirked, absentmindedly stroking her hair with his free hand. That was something he found himself doing more and more. “Did you actually want children? Or was that just the way things were supposed to go?”

“We thought about taking in a ward. An orphan, from one of the workhouses. New York was practically crawling with them. Of course, about two weeks after he and my father had that big fight, he told me he had been fucking our head cook for months, was running away with him and I should not expect him to ever come back.”

He stilled. “Well. That was shit timing.”

She turned, propping herself up on her elbows. “You don’t say.”

“If it’s any consolation...” He reached up, cupping her cheek. “He really did love you very much. Fought me with all he had.” 

Judith blushed. The way he was looking at her... “I... Thank you. For telling me.” _‘Why aren’t you taking your hand away? Please don’t take it away.’_ It felt like her heart was in her throat but that was ridiculous. There was nothing between them. Nothing except whatever... _this_ was.

She moved first, averting her eyes and lying back down by his side, her back to him and her knees pulled to her chest.

_‘I can’t deal with this. It’s too much.’_

_‘It’s not enough.’_

Crowley watched as she started to shake with sobs that she tried to stifle. He couldn’t decipher the emotion that was slowly spreading through him, made him want to wrap his arms around her and take her pain and inflict it on somebody else. Knowing he was responsible for it made it worse, somehow, which was the strangest thing about it. He had caused so much pain and suffering in all the centuries he had been alive, both as a human and as a demon, but it had never touched him.

Why should now be any different?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Hello squirrel.”

“Crowley. What do you want?” Dean leaned back in his chair, placing his feet on the table and ignoring Sam’s disapproving look.

“I... need a favour.”

Dean’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you now.” He grinned at Sam and mouthed, ‘This is gonna be good’. Sam just rolled his eyes.

“The side effects. From the demon curing thing. How long do they last? On average?”

Dean could hardly contain his amusement. “Let me put you on speaker, I’m sure Sam can tell you more about that than I can.”

“No, don’t...”

“Aaaaaand you’re on.” His grin was threatening to split his face in half. Sam rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

“Crowley.”

“Moose.” Crowley’s dislike for Sam was practically oozing from the phone.

The brothers looked at the phone which just quietly glowed. Dean was still grinning. “You still there?”

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

“So, side effects. What kind?”

“I would really rather not discuss this publicly.”

Sam furrowed his brow. “You called us.”

“No, I called your dumbass of a brother. But if you must know, I’m having... _feelings_.” The way he said it made it sound like a horrible disease.

By this point, Dean had buried his face in his hands and was shaking with quiet laughter. Sam kicked his chair. “What-what kind of feelings?”

“ _Human_ feelings, genius. Really, I’m starting to think the angel is the smart one out of you three, and that’s not saying much.”

“Yeah, and you’re asking us for help. So what does that make you?” Dean smirked.

“Can you give me a straight answer or not? Because I can waste my time much more pleasantly elsewhere.”

Sam had pulled over his laptop and was scrolling through a document. “We don’t really have a frame of reference here. As far as we know, the ritual was only ever successfully completed once. I suppose you’re a unique case.”

“Well, isn’t that just bloody fantastic. Thanks for nothing.” The phone went silent.

The brothers stared at each other.

“This shit keeps getting weirder and weirder.”


	5. Lack of sleep, talk of whisky, developments.

****

5

When he appeared in front of her door the next time, it was open. Soft light spilled into the hallway. “Judith?” He pushed open the door and found her curled up on the bed, facing away from him. She was asleep, exhaustion showing on her face.

Crowley silently closed the door and took off his jacket and shoes before sitting on the bed, watching her. She mumbled something as the mattress dipped under his weight and rolled towards him, her arm snaking around his waist, before settling down again. He sat back, tracing circles on her shoulder with his fingers.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Crowley.”

He woke with a start, confused for a moment, until he felt a warm hand on his chest and realised he must have dozed off. Judith kneeled next to him, her hair tousled from sleep, a look of concern on her face.

“Is everything alright?”

“Of course it is.” He patted her hand and sat up, cracking his neck. “Long day at the office.” He grinned lopsidedly, and she smiled.

“I thought demons didn’t need to sleep.”

“We can go without it. But it helps keep the meat suits running smoothly if we do it every now and again.” Somehow, his tie and belt had ended up on the desk. He didn’t remember taking them off.

She nodded her understanding and laid down in the crook of his arm again, her nails clicking a rhythm against the buttons of his shirt. Learning these things about him was strange, far stranger than she had anticipated. The whole situation was odd from the onset but she had not expected to have him tell her anything about himself. That wasn’t part of their contract.

“What about food?”

“The same. We can have it, and I do so enjoy Craig.”

“That sounds... weirdly suggestive. And also cannibalistic.”

“It’s Scottish whisky, woman. Don’t you know anything?”

She chuckled. “Not about obscure Scottish whisky distilleries, no.”

“I’ll have you know that Craig was the best stuff money could buy back in my day.” He huffed, and Judith looked up at him, smirking.

“Ah yes. 350 years ago.”

He looked scandalised. “Are you, by any chance, implying that I’m old?”

“Not implying, no. I’m saying it outright.”

He growled at that, grabbing her hip and rolling them so he loomed over her. “I’ll show you who’s old, girl.”

A stab of fear went through her, mixed with something else. Excitement. _Arousal._ Her body remembered his all too well, and her reaction was almost instantaneous. His leg was between hers, and before she could stop herself, she pushed herself against his thigh, her eyes slipping closed.

Crowley stared down at her. _‘This is a mistake.’_ And for the first time in a long while, he didn’t care about making mistakes. He leaned down and kissed her, very much like the kiss that had sealed their deal. Her hands came up, cupping his face, holding him to her, and she arched into him, moaning into his mouth.

It was _exhilarating_.

Sex had been currency to him for a long time. He used sex to advance his position in Hell. Then, as King, he used it as a reward. But those were business transactions. Pleasant but always tied to an ulterior motive. This – this was different. It was _honest_. Honesty was so very hard to come by in Hell.

He moved his hand upwards, gliding along her flank, up her ribs, cupping her breast. She whined against his mouth, and he thumbed her nipple through her shirt, revelling in how she pushed herself against him.

Judith could hardly breathe. It felt like an eternity ago that she had last touched anybody like this, had _been_ touched like this, and her body was so sensitive it was almost unbearable. She was drunk on the taste of him, so familiar and strange at the same time. When he pulled back, she was left breathless and flushed.

“Judith, look at me.” His voice was a growl that rumbled through her, and she forced her eyes open with some difficulty. He was propped up on his elbows, hovering above her, his eyes shining with an intensity that made her shiver. His right hand came up to her face, his thumb tracing her lower lip. “I’m not your husband, Judith. I will never be him.” His eyes changed then, hazel replaced by the bright red of the Crossroads demons, and his hand covered her mouth, stifling her scream of surprise.

Crowley studied her face, letting her see him for who he really was. Their deal was based on the illusion that he would pretend to be her husband but things had changed along the way. If she was going to take this step, he wanted her to make an informed choice, if only so he could stop pretending. It was growing more tiresome than he had anticipated.

She stared up at him, every instinct telling her to run from him as fast as possible – but she couldn’t. She had waited too long, had been alone for too long. She needed this, whatever it was. Even if it was business to him, even if he didn’t care about her at all.

Still meeting his eyes, she pulled his hand away from her mouth, threading her fingers with his. Her voice was husky from adrenaline and arousal when she spoke. “I don’t care. I want this.” She raised her head, her tongue slipping out to lick along his lower lip before she kissed him.


	6. Crowley is an awful tease.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes the smut! *singsong voice*

****

6

With a growl that made Judith’s insides clench, he took control of the kiss, bruising her lips against her teeth, and she whimpered, fisting his shirt in her hands. His hand moved to the hem of hers, pushing it up, and the first touch of his hand on her naked skin sent an electric current coursing through her. He cupped her breast again, pinching her nipple between thumb and forefinger, and she gasped into his mouth, arching her back against the pain.

Crowley rolled them over so she straddled him, and grabbed her hips, pulling her down against his cock. Her eyes glazed over and her lips parted in another gasp, and he smiled. He was entranced by her honest reactions. So simple, no pretence, nothing she was trying to gain by it, just raw lust and desire.

Arching her back, Judith reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head. She was naked underneath, and Crowley slid his hands up, palming her breasts before dragging his nails down her sides, making her gasp and buck against him. “So responsive.” He sat up and kissed her again before licking along her jaw and down her neck, drawing soft moans from her. 

“Please, let me...” Her fingers found the buttons on his shirt, undoing them one by one, until it fell open and she got her first real look at him. His skin was unnaturally hot under her hands, and his grip on her hips tightened when she ran her fingers through the wiry patch of hair on his chest. She leaned down and kissed him again, her hands trapped between them, and he grabbed the back of her neck, holding her in place.

Judith moved against him, whimpering, her need growing with every deliberate lick of his tongue against her lips, with each roll of her hips, his cock rubbing against her in the most delightful ways. Jonathan had been a considerate lover, and after they realised she was barren, the pressure of her becoming pregnant fell away, making sex much more enjoyable for both of them. But he had not been a passionate man.

Crowley, on the other hand... She was afraid his passion would burn her, leave nothing behind when he was done with her. She was under no illusions that this was anything more to him beyond simply satisfying carnal desires, that he had any kind of feelings for her. The demon in him prevented anything of the kind. But even so, could she withstand what he might demand of her? Did she even really want to find out?

He reached between them, taking her wrists and moving them behind her, holding them in place with one hand. She realised this pushed her towards him, and he grabbed her breast with his free hand, holding her still as he leaned down and sucked her nipple into his mouth. “Oh... That’s...” She tried moving against him but his grip stopped her. He drew back, her nipple leaving his mouth with a wet pop that sounded incredibly obscene to her, and smirked up at her. His eyes had changed back to hazel and she shivered.

“Let’s get you out of those knickers, shall we?”

He rolled them over again so that he came to kneel between her spread legs, softly stroking down her sides and making her sigh with pleasure. Then he hooked his fingers into the waistband of her trousers, slowly pulling, and she was irrationally embarrassed. She had spent the last 15 minutes dry-humping him with his tongue half-way down her throat but the thought of him seeing her completely naked made her blush like a school girl.

Crowley pulled the garment off her legs, dropping it on the floor behind him. Her scent rose up from between her thighs, making his mouth water, and he grabbed her hips, lifting them towards him, licking along the dank patch on her pants. She whimpered, her hands scrabbling for purchase in her awkward position, and he let her sink back to the mattress. “Delicious.” His eyes darkened and he ripped the seams on her pants, one side after the other, enjoying her shrieks of pain as the fabric dug into her skin.

Judith scrambled backwards but he caught her by the ankle and pulled her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her hips and anchoring her to him. “Be still, darling.” He bent his head, not taking his eyes off her, and licked her _there_ , and she collapsed on the mattress with a moan.

“Oh, yes, that’s... Oooh... _Crowley..._ ”

Hearing her moan his name, and knowing that she meant it, that she didn’t pretend to enjoy his ministrations – it felt far stranger than he could have known. Having a willing partner was such an odd experience for him that it almost made him distrustful of her, but he could see there was nothing guarded about her, nothing she was holding back.

“Oh, please, I...”

He raised his head, dragging a finger through her curls, downwards. “Please what, sweetheart?” He just barely skimmed the wet heat at her entrance, and she whimpered.

“Please, let me... I need...”

He smirked, flicking her clitoris with the tip of his finger, making her buck off the mattress. “What do you need?” Another flick, and she bit her lip, meeting his gaze with wide eyes. He narrowed his. “Tell me.”

The command in his voice made goose bumps appear on her arms, and she tried to raise her hips to get him to keep going, but he placed a hand on her stomach and pushed her down as if she hadn’t tried to move at all.

“Tell. Me.”

“I...” She had to close her eyes then, embarrassment flooding her. “Please let me come.”

Crowley watched her, her flushed cheeks, the way her muscles quivered under his hand, trying to move off the bed. Denying her her desire was exquisite. He smirked as he placed his palm over her mound, rubbing a slow circle that made her keen and grab the sheets. “I don’t think I will do that.”

Her eyes flew open, and her disbelief made him laugh out loud. “What? Why...”

He stood, taking off his shirt, and let his gaze wander over her body, from her feet upwards. She looked about ready to crawl out of her skin. “I think I’d rather have you come around my cock when I’m fucking your pretty pink cunt.”


	7. Judith doesn’t know what’s about to hit her.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's that mildly dubious consent and deep-throating I was talking about in the tags. So if that squicks you, you can pass on this chapter, it's not like there's an awful lot of plot happening. You'll also miss Crowley being a cheeky bastard, though.

**7**

Judith hadn’t thought she could blush even more but she did. She also couldn’t deny how she quivered at his words, at the promise. “Oh.”

Crowley smiled and carefully placed his shirt over the back of the desk chair before he turned back to her. She was flushed, her dark hair falling over her shoulders, eyes wide and lips parted, and she looked absolutely delicious. He walked back to the bed, running his hand through her hair. “How would you like that?” Instead of answering, she reached for the waistband of his trousers, trying to work the button free, but he caught her hands, stilling them. “There’s something you need to know.”

She raised her eyebrows. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t particularly like people knowing about this. It’s about why I sold my soul.” He freed her hands and motioned for her to continue. “I was a very vain man.”

Judith looked up at him dubiously. “Was?” He smirked in response, and she fumbled with the button a moment longer before finally getting it open. No underwear. Of course. She pulled and the trousers fell to the floor in a puddle.

“Holy mother of God.”

“I can assure you, she had nothing to do with this whatsoever.” That smirk again.

She couldn’t stop herself from staring. “Please tell me you didn’t really sell your soul for a bigger dick.”

Crowley reached down, stroking himself and delighting in the way she drew in a breath and bit her lip at the crude gesture. “I most certainly did, sweetheart.” He kept moving his hand and she kept staring, her blush moving down her neck, her breathing becoming heavier. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, and he reached out and grabbed her chin, making her look at his face. Her eyes were wide, her pupils blown. His cock jerked in his hand. “Do you want this?” She looked down, licked her lips again. “Tell me. Do you want me to fuck you with my long... hard... cock?” She gasped, and his grip on her chin tightened minutely.

“Yes.” It was hardly more than a whisper.

He stroked his thumb along the line of her jaw. “Maybe you haven’t earned that quite yet. What do you think, pet?” He stepped closer until the head of his cock came to rest on her lower lip. She met his gaze much more calmly than she felt, and slowly opened her mouth. Crowley narrowed his eyes and pushed past her lips, groaning. “That’s my girl.”

Judith’s jaw started aching almost immediately. She could barely take in a quarter of his length before she started choking, and tears started leaking from her eyes from the pressure. But when she leaned back to look at him, he was staring at her with such intensity that she probably couldn’t be doing everything wrong. Jonathan had never allowed her to do this, saying it was degrading to both of them.

Crowley, obviously, had no such reservations. He was still holding onto her chin, and now he reached up to hold her head with both hands, pressing on her jaw so she would open her mouth wider. “Be very still now. And don’t forget to breathe.”

Judith’s eyes widened as he pushed himself deeper into her mouth. Panic rose in her, her airway closing up as he pushed against the back of her throat, and she reached for his hands to push them away, to get away from him, but his grip on her head tightened and held her in place.

“I told you to hold still, didn’t I?” She whimpered around his cock, and he groaned. “You be a good girl now and you’ll earn your reward.” She whimpered again, nodding her head as far as his grip allowed, and he smiled. He adjusted his hold on her head, tilting it back just so, and started fucking her mouth, ignoring her whimpers of discomfort, _no_ , relishing them. “Yes, that’s it. You’re doing - _fuck_ \- very well.”

She had grabbed his hips and was now holding on for dear life, trying not to gag, trying to keep breathing through her nose as he pushed more and more of his cock into her mouth, and she realised with a start that the bed sheet underneath her was drenched with her juices. Good lord, she was _enjoying_ this. She had not lived under a rock these past decades and knew people were into all sorts of deviant behaviour these days but she could never have imagined that she would be caught doing something like this, and _liking_ it. Her head was spinning. What was he _doing_ to her?

Crowley looked down at her, the sight of her tear-streaked face and wide eyes making him twitch in her mouth. “Take a deep breath now, pet,” and with a growl that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, he pushed himself down her throat. Her eyes squeezed shut, and she dug her nails into his skin, drawing blood. Oh, but this was _good_. Her throat was spasming around him, and he could see her toes were curling as he fucked into her again and again, the scent of her arousal clouding his senses. With a groan, he pulled back, grabbing his cock as she coughed and spluttered, her face red and wet with her tears and saliva dripping down her chin.

Judith drew in big, gasping breaths, stars swimming before her eyes. Nothing she had ever experienced compared to this, this filth and depravity, and she _loved_ it. His hand was in her hair again, tilting her head back, his command to look at him spreading warmth through her belly, and when she opened her eyes, he stroked himself once, twice, groaning as his release hit him, splattering on her cheek and her lips and into her mouth. She almost gagged at the taste, salty and bitter and strangely familiar.

Gasping, he rode the last waves of his orgasm, milking his cock against her lips, and she was just staring up at him, mesmerised. Drawing a deep breath, he leaned down and kissed her, hard and demanding, noting how her breathing hitched, tasting himself in her mouth. Oh, he was enjoying this. She was so wonderfully pliant, following his lead with almost no resistance, and if the wetness between her legs was anything to go by, he was pushing all the right buttons.

This deal was turning out to be much more interesting than he had thought it would be.


	8. Judith gets her reward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet one today. Enjoy!
> 
> And again, thank you all so much for reading and commenting! <3

**8**

Crowley drew back, grinning at her, and Judith reached up, touching his lips in wonder. He leaned forward, sucking her finger into his mouth, and her eyes fluttered closed with a sigh. She looked delectable, his come running down her face, her lips red and bruised. He released her finger and stroked his thumb along her mouth. “You did very well, darling. I’m impressed.” She smiled, obviously enjoying his praise. “I think you have earned something extra.” He leaned into her again, licking his come off her cheek, smirking when she gasped. “Let’s get you cleaned up first, though I must admit you look wonderful like this.”

As he went into the bathroom to fetch a wash cloth, Judith let herself fall back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. This was not what she had planned for, none of it. Maybe a small part of her had hoped something like it would happen but this went beyond anything she knew or understood. Then again, it probably shouldn’t surprise her. He was obviously vastly more experienced than her, in all regards. She could only imagine the things that went on in Hell, and she was certain her imagination was much too limited in any case.

She touched the cooling liquid on her cheek, marvelling at how it glistened on her fingertips. Considering today’s moral standards, this was probably a perfectly normal, run-of-the-mill thing for most people, but for her it was... incredibly filthy. Just thinking about it made her blush to her hair roots.

Crowley returned, sitting on the bed, smirking and running his hand up her thigh. “Such a pretty sight.” Reaching for her hand, he brought her fingers to his mouth, sucking his come off them. “So messy.” He smirked at her before wiping her face clean, tossing the wash cloth on her nightstand when he was done. The room absolutely _reeked_ of sex, and it was starting to go to his head.

Judith felt boneless with exhaustion, both physical and emotional, and just watched him as he cleaned her. Jonathan had been very peculiar about hair, preferring to be clean-shaven at all times, so much so that he sometimes shaved twice in a day. Crowley had a beard, peppered with grey, and it looked completely out of place to her, but she was starting to like it. It fit with his rough personality.

He laid down next to her, propping himself up on one arm while his free hand ghosted over her belly, raising goose bumps in its wake. “So. Your reward.” She shivered, her eyes slipping closed, and he moved his hand down, dragging his fingers through her damp curls. “I did say you had earned something extra, didn’t I?” Watching her, he slid his fingers between her folds, finding the heat of her entrance, deliciously wet and ready for him. “You’ve been so good for me, darling...” Slowly, he pushed two fingers into her, smiling as she threw back her head, mewling.

She couldn’t help herself, she pushed herself against his palm, desperate for friction as he worked his fingers into her, and he smiled. “Such a tight little cunt.” He rubbed her mound once, twice, making her moan, her hands grasping the sheets. “Such a filthy girl, just begging to be fucked.” 

He curled his fingers upwards at that, and her eyes flew open, her hips arching off the bed. “Oh! That... I...”

“Yes?” He smirked, leaning down and sucking her nipple into his mouth, carefully grazing it with his teeth.

“Just... please... do that again...” He did, and the pressure was almost unbearably delicious. It was the strangest feeling, pleasant and uncomfortable at the same time, and she pushed against him as he drove his fingers into her faster and faster. “Oh, that’s-I’m going to...”

“Go ahead, darling.” A twist of his fingers, _just so_ , his teeth sinking into the soft swell of her breast, and she was coming apart, her orgasm washing over her so suddenly, so overwhelmingly, that it took her breath away.

She was shaking like a leaf, gasping as he pulled his fingers from her. “That was...”

Crowley grinned lopsidedly. “Mind-blowing? World-shaking?” He popped his fingers into his mouth, sucking her juices off of them, humming. _Delightful._

She smiled lazily. “Well... yes, pretty much.” He leaned down then, kissing her, and Judith moaned at the taste of herself on his lips. Her arms came up around his neck, pulling him on top of her, and she realised with a start that he was still hard, poking her in the hip. She groaned against his lips, and he drew back with a smirk. Her voice shook when she spoke. “Oh, what are you doing to me?”

“Whatever you want me to do, sweetheart.” He grinned. “And probably some things you didn’t know you wanted.”


	9. More boundaries are tested.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning for this chapter: choking. Also, feeeeeeeeeeeeelings!
> 
> A big "Thank you" to everyone who left kudos, subscribed or commented! Glad you're enjoying this ride! <3

**9**

Crowley rolled them over again – she could see a theme emerging here – and pulled her against him. “Come sit on daddy’s lap, he has a present for you.”

Judith stared at him, then burst into laughter. “That is _such_ a horrible thing to say.”

He just smirked as she, still chuckling, straddled him. Leaning forward to sit, he caught her left nipple between his teeth, making her laugh morph into a shriek, and grabbed her buttocks, squeezing. “Are you trying to be cheeky? Because I think that’s something I would have to punish you for.”

She gasped as his nails dug into her skin painfully, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “No! I’m sorry, I didn’t...” Oh, this was wrong. She shouldn’t allow him to do these things to her, but she would be damned before she said no to the pleasure he offered.

He released her, stroking his hands up her butt soothingly and to her waist, lifting her. “Then sit, pet.” 

His meaning was clear, and she reached behind her, positioning his cock at her entrance, whimpering as he slipped between her folds. “Oooh... S-slowly, _please_ , I...” He slid into her with a groan, hardly giving her time to adjust, and she cried out. “Oh, please wait, I...”

He grabbed her neck. “Listen. I will only say this once. You will _sit_ ,” he moved his hips upwards to make his point, pushing deeper into her, “on my cock, and you will come when I tell you to. Do you understand?”

She gasped, her head thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as her body tried to adjust to the invasion. “No, please, I can’t-“

Crowley growled against her shoulder, holding her in place as she tried to squirm out of his grasp. “Yes, you can. And you will, because I’m telling you to.” His grip on her neck was bruising, and she mewled softly. “Now move, darling.”

And she did. She felt like he was tearing her apart at the seams but she couldn’t resist, couldn’t not fuck herself on his cock, couldn’t not obey his command. Her head was swimming, every nerve ending was on fire, and she found that with every thrust she could take him into her deeper, deeper, and _deeper still_ until he was buried to the hilt inside her. She stilled then, shaking in his arms, quivering around him, gasping for breath. “Oh... I’m...”

He kissed her, hard and unrelenting, his hands moving to her hips. “Good girl.” He moved her then, ignoring her cries of protest, and something coiled in her belly, more and more tightly. She was close, so close... “That’s it, darling. Ah, _fuck_... Come for me.” His voice, that low growl against her skin, oh, it did things to her, delicious, dark things, and when he grabbed her hips, slamming into her almost viciously, stars exploded in front of her eyes, and it was all she could do to hold onto him as her orgasm washed over her.

He left her no time to recover, rolling them so she sprawled beneath him, bending her until her knees touched her shoulders and she _screamed_ as he hit _that_ spot with his next thrust, her vision going blurry. “Oh, oh, please, I can’t-“ Another thrust and another, vicious and demanding, impossibly deep, and she tumbled over the edge again with a roaring in her ears, a long wail on her lips and her nails biting into his thighs, making him hiss.

Crowley reached down and grabbed her neck, squeezing. “You’re _such_ a wanton little thing. This is exactly what you need, isn’t it?” She gasped, clenching around him, her eyes rolling back in her head, and he groaned as his orgasm hit him like a sledgehammer, spitting out a string of very colourful Scots curses as he spilled himself deep into her.

Judith gasped beneath him, pushing against his arm weakly, and he slowly loosened his grip, letting her breathe. He eased her hips down to the mattress, still buried inside her, kneeling between her thighs. She was looking up at him, eyes hooded, her hair sticking to her forehead in messy, wet curls.

“Beautiful, darling.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Judith sat in her bathtub, submerged to her chin with water running into her ears, drowning out everything but her own breathing, and stared at the ceiling. Her throat was sore, both on the inside and outside, marks from where his fingers had pressed into her flesh blooming on her skin. Her whole body was sore, in fact.

But she was strangely... happy.

At least as long as she didn’t think about things too hard.

She had never known that sex could be anything like this, so relentless and uncompromising. It should have disturbed her, the things he had done to her, that she had _let_ him do. She wasn’t under the illusion that she could have really fought him off, physically, if he had done something she didn’t want, but still. The fact that she hadn’t even _attempted_ to resist him, hadn’t even thought about it, had just followed his lead as he took more and more all while giving her pleasure like she had never known – it should worry her.

She didn’t expect moral or even vaguely normal behaviour from him. But until today she had thought of herself as a good person, as someone who had a moral compass of sorts. It had only taken a few sweet words and growled commands, and she had spread her legs for him like the cheapest of dockside whores, while very literally putting her life in his hands.

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit.” Pressing the palms of her hands over her eyes, she took a deep breath and sank beneath the water.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Crowley was already half-way dressed when she emerged from the bathroom, buttoning up his shirt. He smiled at her, but that smile turned into a frown when she avoided his eyes and sat at her desk, her back to him.

“Everything alright, darling?”

She started fiddling with her hair, dragging her fingers through the wet strands. “I’m fine.”

He could smell liars a mile off, and she was an _exceptionally_ bad liar. He walked over, crouching next to her, and turned her head to look at him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks silently. He sighed. “What’s wrong, Judith?”

She wiped at her face almost angrily. “Nothing.” Crowley sat back on his haunches, watching her, and she squirmed under his gaze. “It’s just...” Her voice quavered. “I shouldn’t... I shouldn’t enjoy these things! They’re wrong!”

He sighed deeply. “Why?”

Judith stared at him as if he’d just grown an extra head. To her, the answer was obvious. But maybe asking him to understand was just asking too much. “I... It’s just...” She fiddled with the edge of her bathrobe. “It’s just... not proper.” It sounded stupid even to her own ears.

He laughed, patting her thigh. “Darling, I think we left ‘proper’ behind us a good long while ago.”

She pursed her lips. “You did. I used to be...”

“What, a good person?” She flinched and looked away, her eyes narrowing. Her confusion was quickly being replaced by anger. _Good._ “Listen, doing these things doesn’t make you a bad person. Believe me, I should know.” Her jaw worked as she listened. “It takes a hell of a lot more to turn someone bad than fucking in something other than the missionary position.”

She had to laugh at that. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

He smirked. “Of course I’m right, I’m the king.” He rose, pulling her to her feet along with him and made her tilt back her head so he could inspect her neck. “Such lovely bruises.” He met her eye. “Do you want me to take them away?”

She touched her neck, fingertips ghosting over the marks. “No. I think I’d like to keep them.”

Crowley smiled, a predator’s smile, and kissed her. “Good girl.” They parted, and he picked up his tie and belt. “I need to leave. Hell waits for no man, and all that.” She smiled, choosing not to correct him on his misquote, instead helping him into his jacket. He kissed her again, softly, and she sighed contentedly. 

And then he was gone.


	10. Real talk and a date.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves! More feelings!

****

10

They fell into a sort of comfortable routine after that. The schedule remained the same, but instead of agonising over her past or whether or not what she was doing was the right thing, Judith followed his advice and threw herself head first into this experience. Crowley was an enthusiastic teacher, taking perverse delight in corrupting her more and more.

The way she responded to his suggestions and, sometimes, orders was beginning to affect him much more strongly than he had thought possible. He had had human lovers over the years but none who had been so willing to please him just to, well, please him. There had always been the threat of what he was lingering in the background. Judith seemed to hold no such reservations. There was still some fear of his darkness, he could tell, but when he was playing, she submitted to his will almost entirely.

Driving her almost to the brink of orgasm and then leaving her there was quickly becoming his favourite thing to do to her. He could spend hours slowly fucking her, with his cock or fingers, until she was almost _there_ , and then he would just stop, leave her in a whimpering heap, sopping wet and begging him to grant her release. Sometimes it would be enough for him to whisper a command in her ear then, and she would come violently, screaming and arching off the bed as he watched with a satisfied smirk on his lips.

The downside was that he found himself distracted more and more often during those times when he was not with her, barely listening during the endless hours he had to spend holding court, instead thinking about the things he wanted to do to her. And it was getting noticed.

As Judith had said, demons liked to talk, and news of the regular appointments of their king had spread like wildfire. The foot soldiers weren’t happy, to say the least. First the Winchesters, and now a human pet who took up so much of their king’s time? Not just the contractually agreed upon time, no, now she was apparently driving him to distraction. His position had been shaky at best for a while but this was shaping up to be a serious issue.

The worst part, if he allowed himself to think about it, turned out to be that he spent quite a bit of time thinking of ways to remove her from harm’s way, and he couldn’t simply explain it away with “Don’t touch my toys”. He was getting _attached_ to her, in a way that didn’t bear thinking about. That should have been impossible.

He would have to test that theory.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let me take you out. Dinner.”

Judith turned to face him, her eyebrows rising. “What, you mean, like, _dinner_ -dinner? At a restaurant and everything?”

“No, a gay bar. Of course at a restaurant.”

She still didn’t believe him. “You’re pulling my leg.”

He growled, his brows knitting together in displeasure. “Forget I said anything.”

“No, I’m sorry!” She pushed herself up on her elbows, kissing his cheek softly. “I just... didn’t think that would be something you’d like to do with me.” He was still frowning, and she had to smile. “I’d love to have dinner with you. Really.”

Crowley looked doubtful a moment longer but it seemed her smile convinced him that she wasn’t just agreeing to placate him. He pulled her against him, resting his chin on the top of her head. “Any preferences?”

She thought about it for a while. “Not really. Nothing where they serve live animals or anything of the sort, though.” She made a face.

He chuckled. “I’ll make a note of it.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Judith felt vaguely sick all day. It felt like time crept forward incredibly slowly, and she soon ran out of things to do. By five o’clock, she had put her hair up four times and let it back down again before _finally_ deciding on a simple up-do, had stared at her collection of nail polish bottles for a solid 13 minutes without being able to decide on which colour she was going to wear, and had finally suffered through half an hour of some inane TV show about ghost hunters just to get her mind off her nervousness. It was all in vain.

This was a legitimate date.

Well, sort of. She still shied away from categorising this entire thing as anything other than the deal they had made, despite the fact that he had spent nearly every moment they spent together during the last three weeks fucking her silly, and if he asked her out for anything beyond that, he was doing it for his own gain. Probably. Most likely.

Because if she considered this a date? That would open a can of worms the size of Texas.

Crowley arrived at six, knocking. She sat in her wingback chair, nearly vibrating with tension. “It’s open!”

He entered the room, a clothes bag over one arm. “Brought you a gift.”

Her eyebrows rose. “What? Why?”

He gingerly laid the bag on the bed and turned to look at her, one eyebrow cocked. “Were you planning on wearing that?”

Judith looked down. She didn’t have many nice clothes – she had never needed any - and for some reason the thought that she could use this opportunity to dress up had completely slipped her mind. So she had just picked her nicest skirt and blouse. She blushed. “Guess so.”

Crowley smirked. “And that’s why I brought you this.” He motioned at the bag. “Come have a look.” She walked over to the bed, leaned down and carefully opened the zipper.

The dress he had brought her shimmered as she lifted it. Finest silk and lace, black as sin. “Oh, Crowley, this... I can’t wear this.”

He stepped behind her, taking her hands and pressing the dress to her front. It was magnificent. “You absolutely will. And you will look stunning.”

“What if it doesn’t fit me?”

He chuckled against her neck, making her shiver. “Darling, I was a tailor. Trust me, it will fit like a glove.” He let go of her hands and started undoing the buttons of her blouse, his fingers brushing over the tops of her breasts as he worked, and she leaned back against him with a sigh. When he was done with the buttons, he pulled down the zipper of her skirt, letting it fall and pool at her feet. His fingers grazed the top of her pants before he moved up again and grabbed her blouse, pulling it down her arms. She moved away from him reluctantly then to let him remove it, turning to face him, the dress still grasped in her hands. She was watching him, and before she could stop herself, she said,

“Why are you doing this?”

_‘Whoops, can open.’_

He was folding her things before putting them on the wingback chair and paused at her question. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, and Judith frowned, her grip on the dress tightening minutely.

“This isn’t what we agreed on. You’re under no obligation to even be nice to me.”

Crowley sighed, rubbing his chin as he turned back to her. “I’ve been thinking about that, you know. And the truth is, I have no fucking clue.” He took the dress from her and laid it back on the clothes bag. Judith felt very naked all of a sudden and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I mean, it’s not that I don’t enjoy this. I do. A lot, actually.” She laughed nervously. “I’m just... curious, I guess.” She couldn’t look at him anymore, embarrassed.

He watched her for a moment before walking back over to her. He ran his hands up her arms and pulled her against him. “Do you need an explanation, darling? What does it matter?”

“It matters to me.” Her voice was muffled by his jacket as she still wouldn’t look at him, and she was stiff in his arms.

He nuzzled her ear, pressing a kiss to the soft spot behind it. “Don’t ask me to explain what I don’t fully understand myself.” She jerked in his arms at that, surprised, and his hands wandered from her shoulders down her back, pulling her fully against him, and she melted into his touch despite herself. “All I know is, I enjoy these meetings.” One of his hands slid into her pants, and he squeezed her butt, drawing a soft gasp from her. “And I enjoy _you_.”

She looked up at him then, a lump in her throat. “That’s good to know.”

He smiled. “Let’s get you dressed. I believe there’s a table waiting for us.”

Judith could feel he was watching her as she picked up the dress and stepped into it. The silk rustled softly as she pulled it up her body. His hands were at her back suddenly and she jumped.

“Let me.” Crowley pulled her zipper upwards, his fingers leaving a hot trail in their wake.

He had been right, of course. The dress fit perfectly.

He turned her around, and she couldn’t help the small smile when she saw how he looked at her. “What did I tell you, darling? Stunning.”

She did a little spin, her smile widening. “You were right, and I’m sorry. Although it’s obviously 90% the dress.” She winked at him and went in search of shoes that would work with the dress.

Crowley watched as she went through her closet. It was remarkable how quickly she could bounce back from something that so obviously worried her. But he still didn’t have his answer. Not really, anyway.

When she had questioned his motivations, he had been... offended? No. Hurt? That was closer to the truth, enough so that it troubled him. It meant she got close, close enough to mean something to him. But that still didn’t tell him why or how.

“Please tell me you can zap us to wherever we’re going because these are the only shoes that go with the dress.” She held up a pair of heels that made his eyes widen slightly.

“Darling, if you put those on, you’re not taking them off today.”

Judith smirked. “Is that a promise?”

“Hell yes, it’s a promise.” He pulled her to her feet and she stepped into the shoes, holding onto him for balance. He slung his arm around her waist then, pulling her against him, and with her next breath, they were on a busy sidewalk, the street alive with cars and shining lights everywhere.

She looked around in wonder, having never experienced the teleporting for herself. “Well, I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the outfit she wears: http://modernqipao.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/04/Black-silk-velvet-lace-modern-qipao-short-cheongsam-dress-004.jpg


	11. A challenge.

****

11

Crowley smirked and turned them so they faced the restaurant they had appeared in front of. “May I?” He offered her his arm, and she took it with a smile, letting him lead her inside.

She had expected something grand, posh and horribly expensive, somewhere where mere mortals had to make reservations six months in advance because that seemed like something he would do just because he could. Instead he had brought her to an apparently family-run Italian restaurant that exuded the charm of the 1960s (but not in a garish, red-and-white-tablecloth kind of way), and it became obvious very quickly that he was no stranger to the manager. They were greeted by a middle-aged woman with frankly _astounding_ hair the moment they walked in the door, and Crowley exchanged pleasantries with her as she led them to their table.

When they were seated and the manager had left, Judith watched him over the top of her menu as he studied his. “I take it you’ve been here before.”

“Every now and then I get the strangest craving for lasagne.” He smirked at her and she laughed.

“Well, then I’ll take it on your authority that the lasagne here is very good and have some of that.” Crowley waved over a waiter who took their order, and Judith propped her chin up on her arm, looking at him. “Can I ask you something?” He made a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “You said you were a tailor. Did you have a family?”

He met her gaze steadily without answering for a moment, then picked up his glass of wine and took a sip. When he had set it back on the table, he nodded. “I did. Wife and a son. Both were horrible.” He chuckled. “Not that I was a good person.”

She looked at her hands with a small smile. “I guess good people don’t sell their souls, do they?”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” His eyes darkened, and she fidgeted in her seat. 

“What were their names?”

Again that unwavering look, and she bit the inside of her cheek. “Bessy and Gavin. A fitting name. She was a cow, dumb as a bag of rocks. He was...” He stopped, and then said with a note of finality in his voice, “I was not a good father.”

Their food arrived then, and Judith was glad for the interruption. It had been a bad idea to ask but she had been so curious. They ate in silence for a while, until Crowley put down his cutlery. “Look at me, Judith.” She swallowed hard, letting her fork sink down to rest on her plate, and made herself look up and meet his eyes. “Who I was as a human is irrelevant now. I’m not shedding any tears over the things I did, and it shouldn’t matter to you. It’s in the past, and you know who and what I am now. Understood?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

He smirked and slid a hand up her leg under the table. “Understandable. I’m just that interesting.”

Judith had to laugh at that. “Your ego is unbelievable.”

“Darling, one doesn’t become the King of Hell by holding back.” His hand wandered higher, beneath the hem of her dress, and she shifted in her seat.

”Crowley...” She looked past his shoulder to where the waiter was bustling past them with dirty dishes, and she felt herself blush.

“How about a challenge, pet?” His voice was low and dangerous, and she shivered. “You stay silent, you get a reward. People notice, you’re getting punished. You get to pick both the punishment and the reward.” His hand was between her thighs and she was immensely grateful for the dark tablecloth that shielded her from view. She bit her lip and met his eyes, nodding silently. The smile he gave her was dark and predatory and made her insides clench in anticipation. He moved to the chair next to her and motioned at her cutlery. “Go on.”

She swallowed heavily and picked up her fork, lifting pasta to her mouth. His hand slipped between her thighs again, his fingertips brushing against her through her pants, and she quickly stuffed the food into her mouth to keep herself from moaning. Crowley smirked, moving over the same spot again, and her grip on her fork tightened.

He leaned towards her ever so slightly as he pushed her thighs apart further to get better access. “I look forward to seeing what kind of punishment you’re going to choose.”

Judith grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think I’ll lose?”

His fingers slid into her pants then, skirting her heat, and he laughed. “Because I know you.” He brushed against her clitoris and she almost dropped her fork, her eyes slipping closed. “Careful now, here comes the waiter.” The smile in his voice made her want to strangle him with his fucking expensive tie.

She forced her eyes open and a neutral look onto her face as the man approached the table, asking if everything was to their liking. She just nodded and tried to smile but in the corner of her eye, she could see Crowley’s smirk widening. His hand slid lower, finding her wet already, and slowly he slid two fingers into her. She whimpered and tried to cover with a fake cough, smiling at the waiter apologetically.

“Say, what are your desserts today? And please, do describe them in detail. My friend here is very interested in patisserie.” The gloat in Crowley’s voice was almost enough to make her stab him with her fork, but then his thumb rubbed her clitoris again, and she felt her smile freeze into a grimace.

The waiter was apparently completely oblivious to what was going on in front of him as he launched into a lengthy description of their dessert menu. Crowley ignored him for the most part, watching Judith instead. She had started to sweat slightly and would fidget in her seat every now and then – whenever he applied pressure to her clit or scissored his fingers – but so far she had managed to stay quiet and keep her face relatively calm. He smirked. _Not much longer._ He added a third finger, his grin widening further as she bit her lower lip, her eyes focussing on a point slightly to the left of the waiter’s shoulder. He pumped his fingers faster, and with a gasp she interrupted the waiter. “I’ll just have the zabaione, please.” She turned to him with a strained smile. “Anything for you?”

He returned her smile evenly. “I’m good.” The waiter nodded and left, and Judith sagged against the back of her chair, grabbing the tablecloth. Crowley leaned towards her, his lips brushing against her ear. “You’re doing very well so far. I’m surprised.”

She bit her lip again, looking at him with hooded eyes, pupils blown wide, and something twisted in his belly. “I’m going to win, Crowley.” He turned his fingers upwards and she gasped, her eyes narrowing. “I will win and you will have to give me what I want.”

“Oh, really?” Another twist of his fingers, brushing against _that spot_ , and she pressed her thighs together with a quiet moan. “None of that now, pet.” She whined and slowly opened her legs again, meeting his gaze defiantly, and he moved his hand again. Their food stood forgotten, and the restaurant had filled up around them. “You’d let this opportunity at having an audience go to waste?” Faster now, hitting her sweet spot with every stroke, and she grasped his thigh, digging her nails into his flesh even through the fabric of his trousers.

Their waiter returned then, setting Judith’s dessert in front of her and taking away their plates with a frown. Crowley chuckled, slowing his rhythm. “What do you think? Does that count as noticing?”

She grit her teeth. “Absolutely not. No cheating.” She picked up her spoon with a shaking hand and dipped it into the bowl. Crowley’s palm lay flat against her mound and he rubbed slow circles on her clitoris, watching as she brought the spoon to her lips. Their eyes met, and she smiled, a glint appearing in her eyes as she opened her mouth and slowly licked the creamy dessert off the spoon, watching him the entire time.

He moved his hand faster again, holding her gaze, and it didn’t take long until her eyes fluttered closed and she bit her lip, her breathing heavy and her cheeks flushed. She clenched around his fingers, and he shifted in his seat, adjusting himself. She laughed quietly. “Look who wants to come out and play...” Her fingers brushed against his cock, and he growled at her, curling his fingers upwards, and she jerked forwards, almost knocking over her glass.

The waiter walked past their table then, a look of concern on his face. “Everything alright, ma’am?”

Judith smiled shakily as Crowley continued his assault on her g-spot. “Yes, I just- _ah_! I dropped something. I’m fine, thank you.” The man looked from her to Crowley, then gave an infinitesimal shrug and walked away. Judith bent forward and rested her head on the table, panting. “I fucking hate you.”

He smiled benignly. “No, you don’t.” He leaned down so his breath brushed over her ear, and whispered, “You fucking love me.” Another twist of his fingers, just so, and she groaned as her orgasm swept her away suddenly. Her thighs pressed together, trapping his hand, and her fingers dug into the table top, making their glasses clink and wobble precariously for a second. When she came down again, he withdrew his fingers, holding up his hand for her to see how they glistened with her juices. “Well done, darling.” Judith sat up, holding his gaze, and leaned forward, sucking his fingers into her mouth and licking along the sensitive underside, making him groan. “Fuck, Judith.”

She smiled sweetly as she let go of his fingers. “Hmm. That was nice.” She picked up her spoon again and took another lick. “So, about my reward.”


	12. Demons in the park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! Thank you all so much for reading and leaving kudos! It really means a lot to me! <3
> 
> A short heads-up for this chapter, there is no Mark of Cain or First Blade in this universe. They killed Abaddon in some other fashion. So there will be no Deanmon (even though he was awesome and had truly stunning hair).
> 
> Anyways, here we go! Get ready for some major feels!

****

12

Crowley’s eyes darkened as he took out his wallet and dropped a wad of bills on the table. “We’re leaving.”

Judith grinned and fluttered her lashes at him. “But I’m not done yet.” She sucked on the spoon, pulling it from her mouth with a wet pop.

“Oh, you’re done.” He took the spoon from her and threw it on the table, pulling her to her feet. She smiled as he pulled her out of the restaurant, the manager calling, “Have a nice night, Mr Crowley!” after them. There were even more people on the sidewalk than when they had arrived, and Crowley led her down the road towards a small walled-in park, the crowd subconsciously parting before him. The park lay dark and abandoned, only a handful of lamps illuminating small circles every now and then, and people avoided it almost instinctively. Judith shivered as they passed through the entrance, and her grip on Crowley’s hand tightened.

He led her to a bench just outside a light circle provided by one of the lamps and sat, pulling her into his lap. Her dress rode up her thighs and he smiled, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her against him. “Tell me what you want, girl.”

She ground against him, his cock pressing against her clitoris, her hands on his shoulders for balance, and kissed him. When she moved back, he followed, his eyes closed, and she smiled. “I want to fuck you. Right now. And you don’t get to touch me.” He groaned, and she grabbed the short hair on the back of his head, pulling his head back and exposing his neck, licking a line up his throat. She rolled her hips against his, and he bucked against her, hissing as she bit him lightly.

“Seems my bad influence is finally taking.”

Judith chuckled, grinding down against him. “I suppose it would take a stronger woman than me to withstand that.” She slid off his lap and pulled her dress up to bunch at her waist before she reached for the waistband of her pants. Their eyes met, and with a slow smile, she turned around and hooked her thumbs into the pants, slowly pulling them down as she watched him over her shoulder. His eyes followed her progress, the hunger evident in them making goosebumps spread over her arms. She bent over at the waist as she progressed, and he shifted on the bench, adjusting himself. She stepped out of the pants and threw them at his head with a smirk. “Hands on the bench, mister.”

Inhaling deeply, Crowley pulled the pants off his face and stuffed them into one of his pockets. “You’ve become bossy all of a sudden.” He smirked, spreading his arms and putting his hands on the back of the bench.

Judith stepped between his spread legs and stroked a finger down his cheek. He leaned into her touch, holding her gaze, and she reached down and grabbed him through his trousers. “I’m not hearing any complaints from you.” She had his trousers open a few moments later, freeing his cock, and sat on her haunches, grasping him with both hands and stroking.

“You realise anybody could walk up this path at any moment?” His voice had dropped an octave, and Judith bit her lip, her thighs pressing together in arousal. She slowly bent forwards, her eyes fluttering closed, and took him into her mouth, hollowing her cheeks and pressing against the underside with her tongue. Crowley groaned, and she looked up at him, her grip tightening. His hands were curled around the back of the bench, his eyes closed and his expression completely unguarded. Something twisted in her belly, like a knife, hot and relentless, and she realised with a start and terrible clarity that what he had whispered in her ear at the table had been the truth.

Judith had fallen in love with him.

Her face burned as the realisation tore through her, and his cock slipped from her mouth as she just stared at him, petrified with silent horror.

Crowley’s eyes opened and he looked down at her, frowning. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“I...” She couldn’t tell him. _Never._ Biting her lip, she pushed down on her emotions, crawling into his lap instead. “Nothing.” She kissed him, her grip on him just a bit too firm. “It’s nothing.”

He looked like he was about to protest because _something_ was clearly going on but she cut him off by sinking down on his cock, her heat enveloping him and stopping all rational thought.

Judith knew she was holding on too tightly, that tears were streaming down her face, that he would question her later. But right now, none of it mattered. There was nothing but the feeling of him inside of her, the heat of his body and his gaze on her. She moved atop him with abandon, mindlessly chasing her orgasm, clutching at his shoulders and her moans and gasps of pleasure echoing through the empty park.

It didn’t take long for her to reach her peak, gasping and shuddering around him, her nails biting into the soft skin of his neck, and he followed her with a snarl, pumping his release into her as she quivered around him.

She collapsed against his chest, gasping and trembling, clutching his jacket, and his arms came up around her, holding her to him. When her breathing had evened out, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “Will you tell me now what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

Her fingers twitched against his chest, and she moved back, out of his embrace and off his lap, his cock slipping from her wetly. “I told you, it’s nothing. Just a... Nothing. Forget it.” She half-turned from him, straightening her dress and hair, brushing away her tears, and avoided looking at him.

Crowley watched her a moment longer before stuffing himself back into his trousers. She still wouldn’t look at him, her body angled away from him, her shoulders tight and her hands closed into fists. He rubbed a hand over his face, breathing deeply. “Judith.”

She flinched, as if he’d hit her. “Can we... Can we please not do this?”

He stood and walked over to her, taking hold of her shoulders and turning her to face him. “Sweetheart, you’re a very bad liar. Tell me. What’s wrong?”

Judith tried to move out of his grasp, squirming, her face showing her anguish. “Please, just take me home. I can’t...” She looked at him then. “ _Please_.”

The pain in her voice was like a punch to the gut. He released her, and she turned away from him again, her shoulders rising and falling with deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Something grabbed him, twisting his insides with a cold grip. He was usually so good at reading people but this time, he had no idea.

Unless...

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the King of Hell. Fancy seeing you here.”

Crowley’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned to the voice. “Balor. How I hoped I’d never have to see your ugly face again.”

Judith turned, wiping at her face. She couldn’t help but stare at the man who had appeared behind them seemingly out of nowhere. He was short and skinny, with a sort of wiry strength evident. His left leg was almost comically large, three times thicker than his right one and slightly longer. His face was average and, weren’t it for the eye patch covering his right eye, so unremarkable that she would have probably forgotten about him instantly.

The man smiled, an unpleasant sight. “Who’s your little friend?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“That’s not very nice of you to say! Here I am, trying to be all civil-like, and you shoot me down like that!”

A shiver shot up Judith’s spine, the hair at the back of her neck standing up. Whoever this man was, she wanted to be far away from him. “Crowley...”

“You should be more careful, old man. People have got to talking about you and your little lady.” The menace in Balor’s voice made her sick to her stomach.

“Is that so?” Crowley was feigning nonchalance but she could see he was paying very good attention to what the other man was doing.

“Oh yes. There’s still quite a few who are none too happy about how you disposed of Abaddon. You might want to watch your back a little more carefully.”

Judith blinked, and Balor was gone, leaving them alone on the grass. She looked at Crowley. His jaw was working, and she could see he was thinking. After a moment, he took a breath and turned to her. “Let’s get you home, sweetheart.” He took her hand, and in a blink they were back in her hotel room. She wobbled on her high heels, grasping his jacket for support, and he led her over to the wingback so she could sit.

She massaged her temples, grateful for the distraction, as horribly unpleasant as it had been. “Who was that man?”

“Balor. A very powerful Irish god. Or rather, he used to be very powerful. Looks at you with that eye of his and you drop dead on the spot.” He looked out of the window, clearly uneasy. “These days, he usually just stirs up trouble for the big players.”

“Do you think what he said is true?”

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled the curtain closed before he turned to her. “I have no idea.”

Real fear gripped her then, mixing with her anxiety and leaving her weary. She kicked off her shoes and stood, walking over to him and winding her arms around his waist, her forehead pressed against his chest. “What should we do?”

His arms came up around her and he kissed the top of her head, and before he could stop himself he said, “Come with me.”

She became quite still, her breath hot against his chest. Her fingers twitched against his ribs. “What do you mean?”

He grasped her chin, turning her face up to him. Her eyes were wide and uncertain. “It’s not safe here for you. I have too many enemies. Balor was just a warning shot. Too many things that go bump in the dark that would be ecstatic at the prospect of taking you.”

The rest of that sentence – ‘ _from me_ ’ – hung in the air between them.

Judith stared at him, conflicted. She could see his point. If any of the big bads of the supernatural world caught wind of... whatever it was they were doing here, things could get ugly for her quite quickly. It didn’t matter if she was really important to him – just the rumour that she was would be enough to send monsters her way.

But she couldn’t ignore the way her heart fluttered at the thought that maybe it was true. That she was more – much more – than a deal to him.

“Where would you take me?”

He frowned. “That’s the difficult part. Hell is out of the question for... way too many reasons. No, it would have to be topside somewhere. With someone I could... well, not _trust_.” He made a face, and she laughed bitterly.

“You really have a knack for making perfectly normal things sound horribly disgusting.”

He kissed her temple with a smirk. “Come on now. Who wants to be normal?”

“Normal people, I suppose.” Judith burrowed deeper into his embrace. “But seriously. Where would I go?”

Crowley had given this part a great deal of thought already, when this had been entirely hypothetical, and no matter how many angles he looked at it from, he really only had one option.

“Let me make a call.”


	13. Annoying the boys is Crowley’s second favourite thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Achievement unlocked: 50 kudos! Thank you all so much! That really means a lot to me! <3  
> Feel free to leave a comment, too. ;)
> 
> More plot in this. I knoooow, don't worry, there'll be smut aplenty soon enough. :)

****

13

“Where the hell is he?” Dean shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket, tapping his heels impatiently. “He said 10, didn’t he?”

“Since when is Crowley true to his word?” Sam leaned against the hood of the Impala next to his brother, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Dean scoffed. “Well, since _he_ asked us to meet, I thought he might want to be on time for once in his fucking life.” The sounds of night creatures rustling through the forest were the only things for miles, and Dean was growing angry. He had better things to do than sit around an empty parking lot in the middle of the night waiting for Crowley to show his face, and...

“Hello, boys.”

Dean jumped, whirling around. Crowley stood on the other side of the car, smiling pleasantly, dressed to the nines as always. “Crowley. You said 10.”

“Oh, did I?” He glanced at his – empty – wrist, cocking an eyebrow. “Guess my watch is running slow.”

Sam rolled his eyes, frowning. “What do you want, Crowley? You didn’t ask us to come out here just so you could be a smart ass.”

“Indeed I did not.” He leaned against the car, making Dean bristle. “Are you, by any chance, still bosom buddies with the delightful Sheriff Mills?”

“Why? And take your hands off my car.”

Crowley smirked, stepping back. “I’m calling in a favour.”

The brothers exchanged looks. “We don’t owe you any favours.”

“Yes, you do!” Crowley smacked the top of the car, making Dean flinch. “You turned me into a junkie! You made me _feel_! You _owe_ me!” His anger was explosive, rolling off of him in waves.

“Well.” Dean shuffled his feet, slightly embarrassed. He had a point. “What does any of that have to do with Jody?”

The demon took a deep breath, smoothing his coat. “I need to hide someone. Can’t say for how long. Everything needs to stay between us.”

Sam raised his eyebrows. “And why would you come to us for that?”

Crowley glared at him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, moose, I don’t have that many friends. I’m embarrassed to say _you two_ are probably the people I trust the most. Considering, oh, _everything_ , that’s saying a lot.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “We all know I wouldn’t come to you if it wasn’t important so maybe try not being gigantic thorns in my side just this once and talk her into agreeing. Call me when you have an answer for me.” And with a final glare he was gone.

Dean stared at the spot where the demon had been, then at his brother. “Dude! He hit my baby!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Days passed, and Judith didn’t know what to do with herself. She had gone back to just lying in Crowley’s embrace during his visits, unable to face him. She was afraid he’d look at her and _know_. Crowley didn’t push her. At least in the beginning.

A week after their disastrous dinner, he pulled her flush against him, curling his body around hers. She shivered in his arms as his lips brushed the shell of her ear. “I’ve said it before. I’m a curious person.” She froze, hardly dared to breathe. “I want to know what’s going on.” She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. “And if you say ‘nothing’, I’ll leave.”

Judith bit her lip, her hands coming up to clutch his arm against her. “I...” She drew a shuddering breath. “You’ll leave when I tell you.” Her grip tightened. “I can’t...”

He moved back and rolled her so she had to look at him, brushing a hand along her cheekbone. “I expect not to be lied to. I’ll ask you again when this is over and I want the truth then. Understood?” She nodded, and he smiled. “Good girl.” He kissed her then, softly and without hurry, until she was writhing beneath him, the scent of her arousal filling the room.

“Crowley...” Her voice was thick with desire, her hands moving restlessly along his sides.

He smirked down at her. “Tell me what you need, sweetheart.”

She looked up at him, eyes hooded. The one word she said was just barely above a whisper. “You.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Dean laughed humourlessly. “’fraid not.”

Jody sat in her kitchen, a steaming mug of coffee in front of her, but right now, she was contemplating topping it off with something stronger. _Much_ stronger. “He tried to kill me! I wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire! So why should I host whatever creature he’s trying to hide?”

Dean cleared his throat. “We... kind of owe him a favour?”

“You what?” She laughed bitterly, gripping her phone a little too tightly. “Then you’re welcome to bring that thing to your little hide-out and leave me the hell out of it.”

“Jody, look. He specifically asked for you. He obviously doesn’t want us anywhere near whoever he wants hidden. I promise, we’ll be very, very careful. If anything about this guy seems fishy, the deal’s off.”

She rubbed her eyes wearily, sighing. “Oh, alright. You’re lucky you’re cute, Winchester.”

He smirked. “I know. I’m adorable. Thank you, Jody. We owe you big time.”

“You just be careful. You keep racking up an awful lot of debts, seems to me.”

“Ah, you know me. When am I ever not careful?”


	14. A road trip, and introductions gone slightly awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More plot! I love these guys. I had so much fun writing this. Hope all y'all like it! <3

****

14

Sam and Dean sat in the car, parked on a dirt road, staring into the darkness outside. Sam fiddled with his phone. “I don’t get it. Who could be so important to Crowley that he needs our help hiding them?”

Dean shrugged his shoulders, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Who knows with him.” His lip curled in distaste. “Dude, maybe it’s a hostage.”

Sam thought about it. “Nah, why would he need to hide someone like that up here? He has endless dungeons at his disposal.”

Dean shrugged. “Well, I’m at a loss here.”

“As per usual.”

The brothers nearly jumped out of their skin at the voice coming from the back seat. “For fuck’s sake, Crowley!”

The demon smirked. “Good evening to you, too.”

Dean glared at him, only then noticing the woman sitting behind him, a travelling bag in her lap. He narrowed his eyes. “So who’s this?”

“None of your fucking business, that’s who.” The warning in Crowley’s voice was clear, but the woman calmly touched his knee, effectively shutting him up – Dean could hardly believe his eyes - and smiled at the brothers.

“I’m Judith. I’m... an acquaintance. You must be Sam,” she smiled at him, “and you’re Dean.” She looked around, sliding a hand over the leather seat appreciatively. “Nice car.”

Dean and Sam exchanged a look. “Right.” Dean turned forward again, starting the engine. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The drive turned out to be a very quiet three hours, with Dean concentrating on the road for the most part - when he wasn’t surreptitiously watching Crowley and Judith in the rear-view mirror. He had never seen the demon so quiet. It was unnerving. He had realised pretty quickly that Judith must have been the mystery woman Crowley had called him about weeks ago, and he was honestly baffled. The demon’s aura was undeniable, but she seemed to be... human. At least as far as he could tell.

For most of the ride, Crowley stared out of the window, his left hand resting at the back of her neck possessively. Judith had closed her eyes, leaning into his touch, apparently asleep. The only times Crowley looked somewhere else, it was to watch her, his fingers stroking the skin behind her ear.

If Dean hadn’t known better, he would have thought the man was in love.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When they pulled into the little dirt road leading to Jody’s house, Sam turned back to Crowley. “Better wake her up. We’re here.”

Both brothers watched as Crowley bent his head to her ear, whispering something, his left hand caressing her cheek softly. Judith’s eyes fluttered open, confusion visible on her face for a moment before she found Crowley next to her, and a small smile appeared on her lips.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look.

Jody’s cabin was tucked away in the woods, the only house for miles, and the light streaming through the windows was warm and welcoming. As the sleek black car rolled to a stop, Judith sat up straighter, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She liked this place already.

The car’s doors creaked open and the brothers got out, Dean opening her door and offering a hand to Judith. She took it, smiling, and let him pull her from the car. “Thank you.” She got her first real look at him then, and she couldn’t stop her mouth from getting away from her. “God, you’re tall.”

Crowley climbed out of the car behind her, his eyes narrowing when he saw Dean was still holding her hand. “Yes, and he’s the short one.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to where Sam had stepped out of the car. With a huff, he stepped between her and Dean, separating them. 

Judith blushed when she realised what he was thinking. Before she could say something, the door of the cabin opened and Jody stepped outside, the look on her face showing her displeasure. Judith squared her shoulders as Sam and Dean walked over to greet their friend.

Crowley grasped her elbow, pulling her against him. “Remember.” His voice was like gravel, making her shiver. “She’s not your friend, and neither are the boys. They’re all just means to an end.”

She nodded. “I know.” She turned her face to him. “You can trust me.” Her hand slid under his coat and suit jacket to glide over his ribs. “I know where I belong.”

Crowley looked as if he wanted to fuck her silly right there in the driveway, but then Dean called them over, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Judith smiled sweetly, picked up her bag and walked over to where the brothers and Jody were waiting.

If looks could have killed, Crowley would have keeled over dead on the spot. As it was, Jody just looked murderous as she shook Judith’s hand, introducing herself. “There’s a guest room for you. I have to go to work tomorrow so you’ll be on your own. Is that okay for you? If not, I’m sure the boys have more than enough room for you at their bunker.”

Crowley fixed her with a glare. “This is fine.” Judith just shuffled her feet awkwardly, nodding.

Jody shrugged her shoulders. “Whatever.”

Judith followed Sam and Jody into the house, scanning the entrance. It all looked so perfectly normal, she had a hard time believing the woman who had greeted her outside was a hunter. She didn’t know what she had expected. More paranormal paraphernalia perhaps? Or rather, any, aside from the protective marks next to the door. Jody’s house was rustic, and the only religious symbol Judith spotted was a cross tucked away in the corner bordering the kitchen.

They came to a stop in an open-plan living room, and only then did she realise Crowley wasn’t behind her. Dean turned back to the hallway and the open door and she peeked past his shoulder. Crowley stood outside, quietly fuming, and she bit her lip against a smile.

Dean grinned. “You not coming in?”

Crowley glared daggers at him. “You know perfectly well that this house is guarded, you fucking moron.”

Jody chuckled. “Whoops.”

Dean walked back to the door, smudging one of the marks on the wall. Crowley glowered at him and shouldered past him into the hallway, quickly walking over to stand beside Judith. She had to bite her lip again. Seeing him like this was amusing in a horrible sort of way.

It also made a queer sort of warmth spread through her belly. He was clearly jealous. It made her cheeks burn.

“So.” Dean had walked back over, and now they all stood in a sort of awkward circle in Jody’s living room. “How long is this whole thing supposed to last?”

Crowley cocked his head. “I’m working on it.”

Jody scoffed. “Oh, that’s great. You park your little sweetheart in my house, and tell me it’s indefinitely?”

“You...” Crowley bristled, but Judith grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Jody and into the hallway.

The brothers exchanged glances. Sam leaned against the wall, watching them. “So does that make her the queen or...?”

Jody laughed bitterly, watching how the demon pushed a strand of hair out of Judith’s face. It made her want to throw up. “Hey, mister! No funny business in my house!”

He made a face at her. “Yes, mummy.” With a last glare at them, he led Judith back outside, closing the door behind him.

Dean sat heavily on the couch. “Could somebody please explain what _the fuck_ is going on?”

Sam plopped into the armchair on the other side of the coffee table. “Do you think she’s a demon? Or something else?”

“Can’t be.” Jody had fetched three bottles of beer from the kitchen and now offered them to the brothers. “She just walked in, and my wards are secure. Nothing gets in here without me knowing it.”

“So what? She’s just... human?”

Dean took a swallow from his bottle, scratching the label with his thumb nail. “I guess so. But that just adds a whole new level of ‘what the fuck?’ to this. Why would Crowley care about a human so much?”

Sam shrugged. “At least now we know why he didn’t want her to stay with us.”

Jody raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

Dean smirked. “Well, she’s kind of cute, isn’t she?”

She groaned. “Oh, seriously? Men!”

“What? I’m just saying!” He grinned at his brother. “I think I’ll have to hit on her, just to ruffle Crowley's feathers a bit more.”

“Dude, he’s gonna kill you on the spot if you do that.”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” He grinned toothily. Jody and Sam just rolled their eyes.


	15. Goodbyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my pretties! Surprise! Since I'll be out of town tomorrow and don't know about internet stuff where I'm going, have this one a day early! Smutty smut smut.
> 
> Also, thank you *so much* again to all the people leaving kudos! <3 Feel free to leave a comment, too. They're free, ya know? ;)

****

15

Outside, Crowley was fuming as he led Judith over to the Impala. She licked her lips before turning to him, putting a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm him. “Crowley...”

He roughly pushed her against the trunk of the car, caging her between his arms. “If that _boy_ lays as much as a finger on you, I swear to Lucifer, things will get _very_ unpleasant for him _very_ quickly.” She wrapped her arms around him with a breathy sigh, sliding her hands along his back. His hands wandered from the cold metal of the trunk to her hips, lifting her up and settling her on top of it. “I don’t share what belongs to me.” 

The intensity behind his words made her heart flutter, and she wound her arms around his neck, pulling him to her, and kissed him. His hands moved up her waist as he closed the remaining distance between them, cupping her small breasts, and she moaned against his lips as she felt his cock straining against his trousers and pressing into her thigh.

“Oh, we can’t...”

He reached up and grabbed her neck, tilting her head back. “Darling, you should know me well enough to know that I don’t care half a fig for ‘can’ts’ and ‘shouldn’ts’.” He bit her then, where her shoulder met her neck, hard enough to leave a mark, and she _keened_ , pressing against him. Her hands seemed to be moving of their own accord. She had pulled up her skirt and was reaching for his belt, undoing it, and before she realised what she was doing, she was holding his cock. He smirked. “So _eager_.”

Without further ceremony, he pulled her underwear to the side and shoved into her, making her shriek as she clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder. He growled, his thrusts making the car creak under her. “Just look at this little slut, so desperate for my cock.” Judith mewled, her sounds muffled by his coat, and hooked her feet behind his back, driving him into her deeper. “Fuck, you’re delightful, pet, you know that?”

The car rocked beneath her and Judith was certain the creaking was loud enough to wake the dead but she didn’t care at all. She just _needed_ , with every fibre of her being, more of this. More of him. The reality of having to hide here, away from him, indefinitely, loomed above her all of a sudden, and her grip on him tightened.

Crowley reached up and wound her hair around his fist, pulling her head back and exposing her neck. His voice made her toes curl when he whispered in her ear. “ _Mine._ ” And he bit her again, drawing blood this time, and she bucked against him, almost sliding off the car. He grabbed her thigh with his free hand, holding her up, and she leaned back, sprawling on the trunk, dizzy and nearly vibrating with arousal. He smirked down at her, touching the wound on her shoulder, his fingers coming away coated in blood.

Judith stared at them, at her blood glistening in the moonlight. Something stirred in her belly at the sight, and she clenched almost violently around his cock. 

Crowley watched her intently as he brought his fingers to his mouth and slowly sucked the blood off them. Her eyes widened, and then she grabbed his tie and pulled him down to kiss him, hard and demanding, the metallic tang of her blood on his lips making her head spin, and a moment later she arched into him, groaning as she came. With a growl, he grabbed her hips and pounded into her viciously, spilling into her as he followed her over the edge.

They stayed like that, panting and staring at each other for a few moments. Then Judith reached up, tracing his lips with her fingertips. “Fuck.”

He grinned. “You just keep surprising me, darling.” He slid out of her, making her hiss and arch her back, their combined juices spilling out of her and onto the trunk. With a smirk, he took her hand and pulled her to sitting, meeting her for another kiss.

Judith hummed against his lips. Oh, she was going to miss this. They parted and she slid off the car, her knees wobbly.

Crowley chuckled as he did up his trousers again, and let his hand glide over the warm spot on the Impala’s trunk. It glistened wetly in the light streaming through the windows. “Dean would blow a gasket if he knew what we’ve done to his precious baby.”

She straightened her skirt and fumbled with her jacket, trying to cover her neck and mostly failing. “How do I look?”

He smirked. “Thoroughly fucked, I’d say.”

“Oh, they’ll know for sure!” She blushed and slapped her hands over her eyes. “I can’t go in there!”

His smile softened, and he walked over to her, taking her hands in his and moving them away from her face. “Let them see, darling. I want them to know exactly who you belong to.” He pressed a kiss to her fingers. Judith’s heart jumped in her chest. “I’ll get them. We need to leave in any case.”

“You’re not, you know?” She snapped her fingers. “Teleporting back?”

“Can’t leave a trail, sweetheart. I’m not looking forward to spending another three hours with Dumb and Dumber but if it helps protect you, I’m willing to make the sacrifice.”

Judith laughed. “Oh, the hardships you have to endure for my sake.”

He huffed but he was still smiling as he walked them over to the house’s entrance, opening the door. She followed him into the living room, certain that her face was as red as a fire engine. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of her jacket as she tried to close it. “Ready to go, boys?”

“Took you long enough.” Sam got up, turning to Jody. “Thanks again. If you need our help, call us.” He shot Crowley a sideways look. “Immediately.”

Jody smiled humourlessly. “The quicker he leaves my property, the better.” She and Sam hugged.

Dean, meanwhile, was trying very hard not to stare at Judith. She was flushed and her hair looked dishevelled, and he didn’t need to think too hard about _why_. Sam sort of waved at her in passing, something she answered with a small smile and a half-wave of her own. He had been right – she _was_ cute.

Crowley cleared his throat, shooting Dean a pointed look, and he looked away from Judith, getting up and saying his goodbyes to Jody. She hugged him tightly. “You boys stay out of trouble, okay?”

“Don’t we always?” He gave her a lopsided grin before turning to Judith. “Well, nice meeting you.”

She smiled, blushing deeply now, her fingers fiddling with the edge of her jacket. “You too. Have a good ride.”

Crowley laughed darkly. “Oh, he will.” He pressed a kiss to her temple before turning away and walking into the hallway. “Not nearly as good as mine, though.”

Dean shook his head, watching the demon leave, then turned and gave her his thousand watt smile. “Want me to kick his ass for you?”

Judith was hiding her face in her hands and her shoulders were shaking, but when she raised her head and looked at him, he saw that she was laughing. “No, thank you. I’m good.” She waved again, then picked up her bag, and Jody led her to the guest room.

Dean sighed, following the other men outside. Crowley sat in the back of the car, smiling much too smugly and inspecting his fingernails.

_‘Son of a bitch, he’s never going to shut up.’_

Dean got into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “You annoy me, I’ll throw your ass from the moving car.”

Crowley just smiled and looked out of the window.


	16. Awkward house mates, and a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have passed 1000 hits! In just over three months. You guys are blowing my mind! <3
> 
> Anyway, this kind of came out of nowhere. This was supposed to be entirely Crowley/Judith but this kind of snuck up on me. Drama, baby! Let me know what you think!

16

Judith woke up early, disoriented for a moment before she remembered where she was. Jody’s house. Right.

She could hear Jody moving in the house and the smell of coffee drifted into the room, coaxing her out of bed. Sighing, she swung her legs over the side. She felt stiff, unused to the mattress, the bed just a bit too narrow. She stretched, ruffling her hair. It really was getting too long.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, she emptied out her bag, sorting through the clothes she had brought. In the end, she just pulled on jeans and an old, shapeless sweatshirt. She felt like hiding, and the oft-worn garment felt like a shield against Jody’s no doubt judgemental looks.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes, took a deep breath, and left her room on bare feet.

Jody was already wearing her Sheriff’s uniform, seated at the kitchen table, a mug in front of her, head bent over a newspaper.

“Good morning.”

She looked up, irritation showing on her face. “Morning.”

Judith stood on the other side of the table, smiling awkwardly. “I smelled coffee.”

The other woman studied her for a moment, then motioned at the kitchen. “Help yourself.”

Judith opened five wrong cupboards before finding a mug. When she had filled it almost to the brim and topped it off with way too much sugar, she returned to the table, sitting down opposite Jody. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

Jody fixed her with a dark look. “No, you really, _really_ can’t.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Did he tell you that he tried to kill me a couple of years ago?”

Judith bit her lip, looking away. “He did. I’m very sorry he did that to you.”

Jody huffed. “What’s going on between you two anyway?”

Judith’s hand came up, brushing over the wound on her shoulder. The sting made her blush again. “It’s... a long story. Complicated. And slightly boring.” She gave the other woman a half-smile.

“Of course it is.” Jody sighed. “Listen, I need to go to work. As long as you stay inside, you should be perfectly safe here. My number is on the door of the fridge. Anything happens, you call me.” She got up, folding up her newspaper. “You need anything from the store? Um.” She shuffled awkwardly. “Pads, or... you know?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.”

Jody blanched visibly. “Oh God, please tell me you’re not pregnant.”

“What?” Judith blushed. “No, I’m not, I can’t get pregnant, and why am I telling you this? Why are we even having this conversation?” She rubbed a hand over her face, embarrassed.

“Oh, thank God. The thought of little devil spawn crawling around my house _seriously_ freaks me out.” She caught Judith’s look of disdain at that. “No offence.”

“None taken. I guess.”

“Look, I’m sorry. This whole situation is just extremely bizarre for me, with an extra helping of grotesque heaped on top. I hate Crowley, probably more than anything else. I would sooner see him dead than help him with anything.” She pointed at Judith with the folded newspaper. “I’m not doing this for him, or for you. I’m doing it to help my friends.”

Judith looked away. “I know. And I appreciate your help regardless.”

Jody ran a hand over her face. “I’ll be back around 7. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” With that, she left the kitchen, picking up her keys and jacket on the way out.

Judith stared at her hands as the door closed with an awful air of finality, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “Terrific.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Things continued to be strained between the two women. Judith spent most of her time in her room when Jody was home, trying to stay out of her way.

She was also slowly going crazy from staring at the same walls all day. Jody wasn’t a big reader, apparently, so there weren’t a lot of books and she blazed through the few that she could find in three days. After that, there were only some lore books she had no interest in even touching. When Jody was at work, she’d watch TV but found herself tuning out quickly. She just wasn’t used to it and couldn’t concentrate.

The truth was, she was distracted and on edge. It had been nearly two weeks without a word from Crowley. He could be dead, for all she knew. Would that mean that she was off the radar? That she could leave? She didn’t really want to put that theory to the test.

It was a few days later, with Judith staring at her bedroom wall and Jody in the shower, when the rumble of a car engine announced visitors. Judith found herself at the front door in the blink of an eye, throwing it open, her heart jumping in her chest when Dean’s Impala rolled to a stop in front of her.

The back seat was empty.

The brothers got out of the car, and Dean was the first who saw the look of terror on her face, how she gripped the door frame so tightly her fingers went white with the pressure. “Judith, it’s okay.”

Dragging her eyes away from the now empty car took physical effort, and the look of concern on his face did nothing to assuage her fear. “Is he...?”

Dean peeled her hand away from the doorway, leading her back into the house, Sam following behind. “No, he’s fine. Asked, or rather told us to check on you.” 

The door of Jody’s bedroom opened and she walked out, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe. “I thought I’d heard you.” She hugged Sam and nodded at Dean. “She alright?”

Dean had manoeuvred Judith to the couch and pressed her down to sit. She stared at her hands, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. Sam and Dean exchanged a look, and Dean motioned at the kitchen. Sam nodded and led a frowning Jody away while Dean sat next to Judith. She hadn’t moved and was still staring at her hands. “You doin’ okay?”

She nodded slowly. “I’m good.” She touched his knee, trying to ground herself. “Did he...” She drew a shuddering breath. “Did he say anything?”

Dean watched her for a long moment. He covered her hand with his. “You’re in love with him.”

Judith looked at him, her eyes wide. Her hand twitched under his. “Is it that obvious?”

He smiled lopsidedly. “You almost had a heart attack because we were alone. So, yeah, pretty damn obvious.”

She returned his smile. “You must think I’m crazy.”

“The heart wants what it wants. Ain’t no helping it.” Dean leaned back against the couch, letting himself relax now that she had calmed down. Her hand was still on his knee, her heat seeping into his skin through his jeans. “What’s he like? I mean, when he’s not being a smarmy bastard.”

Judith laughed. “I wouldn’t know. He’s one pretty much all the time.”

“How’d you meet?” He raised his eyebrows. “If you wanna talk about it.”

She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear, and pulled her legs up and under her. “How old do you think I am?”

Dean smirked. “That’s obviously a trick question.” She laughed again, and his smile widened. He liked hearing her laugh.

“Well spotted.” She fiddled with her necklace, with the ring hanging from it. “Let’s just say I’m... _much_ older than I look.” She met his eyes then, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. “The body Crowley’s in. He was my husband.”

Dean was fairly certain he wasn’t looking particularly smart at that moment. “Your husband? But he’s been in that body forever.”

She smiled faintly. “I know. Nearly 150 years.”

His eyes narrowed. “So you made a deal? To live so long?”

Judith laughed again. “No. I did make a deal, yes. With Crowley. But not for my life.” She let the necklace fall back against her chest, fixing him with her dark eyes. “My grandmother was a witch. She’s why I’m still alive.” He was frowning at her now, and when she placed her hand on his knee again, he flinched. “I suppose you’ll try and kill me now.”

Dean looked uncomfortable, but he met her gaze unwaveringly. “No.” She raised an eyebrow, and he leaned forward, placing his hand on hers. “I’ve done this job long enough to know that you’re not going to hurt us.” He smiled faintly, and she smiled back.

“Thank you. For everything.” He just nodded his acknowledgement and Judith allowed herself to really look at him. There were specks of gold in the green of his eyes, his face covered in freckles from too much time in the sun. She burrowed deeper into the cushions, her foot touching his thigh. “I envy you, you know?”

He looked genuinely surprised. “For what?”

“The life you lead, being able to go wherever you want. Your family.” Her fingers found a loose thread on her shirt. “Not all the death and sacrifice, obviously.” She stared into the distance, images of her family rising up before her, and her voice broke when she spoke again. “I’ve been so lonely for so long. I’m so lonely now.”

Silence covered them like a blanket, only broken by the quiet murmurs drifting over from the kitchen. Her foot was still pressed against his thigh, and Dean took her hand and pulled her against him. She fit perfectly into the crook of his arm.

Judith stared at the pattern on his shirt, her heart in her throat, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. “Dean, I...”

“Does he know?” His voice was rough but she could hear his concern, and she had to smile.

“I haven’t told him.”

Footsteps from the kitchen made them move apart. Jody walked past them and into her room without sparing even a glance for Judith, while Sam sat on the armchair opposite the couch. “Jody needs some stuff from town, and I offered to go with her. We need supplies anyway.”

“I’ll stay with Judith. You can take Baby.”

Sam’s eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. “Really?”

Dean frowned, and Judith had to stifle a laugh. “I just said you could. Just get me my duffel. I don’t know where Jody keeps her weapons.” He threw Sam the keys, and the younger man walked out with a shrug. Dean huffed. “Little brothers, let me tell ya.”

Silence settled over them again, but this time it was leaden with potential. Judith looked over at where he sat to find him watching her, and she blushed.

_‘What the hell am I doing?’_

Jody came back into the living room then, dressed in the ever-present plaid and jeans. “We won’t be long. Anything you need?” She didn’t look at Judith when she spoke, and Judith bit the inside of her cheek.

“No, thank you.”

Jody huffed non-committally and walked outside. Dean got up and followed her, taking his duffel from Sam in the hallway. “Dude, remember the pan we talked about.”

Sam gave an exasperated sigh. “Dean, when are you ever going to find the time to bake a pie?” Judith snorted a laugh, and Dean turned to her with a grin when he had closed the door and checked all the sigils and wards on the wall.

Judith could practically feel the atmosphere in the room changing, and she got up, slowly walking over to where Dean stood. The Impala rumbled to life outside the door, gravel crunching beneath the tyres as Sam pulled away from the house. Dean set the duffel down next to the door and looked at her, heat in his eyes, and Judith bit her lip as he held out a hand.

She took it, and led him into her room. Dean sat on the bed, pulling her against him, and she slid into his lap without any resistance, her eyes fluttering closed. “Dean...”

He kissed her jaw, his hands sliding under her shirt. “I’m not asking for anything. Just let me make you feel better."

She moaned, arching into him. “He’ll kill you if he finds out.”

He smirked, his fingertips grazing the underside of her breast. “Who’s going to tell him?”

Judith ground against him, his cock already hard and straining against his jeans. “This is a bad idea.”

“Yes, it is.” 

They kissed then, feverishly, and Judith found herself pulling at his shirt, desperate all of a sudden. Dean grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the side. He stilled when he saw the wound on her shoulder. “Did he do this?”

She reached up, running her fingers over it. It was almost completely healed but the skin around it was still speckled in blue and green. She smiled, a bitter-sweet thing. “Yes. When you brought me here.” She leaned forward, kissing him again and pushing the shirt off his shoulders.

Dean shrugged out of it before taking her shoulders and moving her back so he could look at her. “Does he hurt you?”

Judith laughed. There was a glint of something he couldn’t place in her eyes. “Yes.” She strained against his hold, tried to kiss him again, but he held her back. She narrowed her eyes. “Physical pain is the least of my worries, Dean.” She ground against his erection and he groaned. “You said you wanted to make me feel better. Keep your word.” She squirmed out of his hold then, pressing herself against his chest. “Please, Dean. I need... I need to feel something else.”

He kissed her then, his hand in her hair, and she sighed against his lips, melting into his touch. She pulled his t-shirt up and he let her, lifting his arms so she could pull it over his head. Her fingertips fluttered over his tattoo before she reached up, her hand on the back of his neck as she pulled him in for another kiss, gentler this time.

They ended up sprawled on the bed, Dean over her as she stared up at him, her pupils blown wide. He swallowed heavily. “We can still go back.”

She laughed throatily. “Your hand is on my naked breast. I’m fairly sure there’s _no_ going back from that.” She reached down, taking his cock into her hand, and stroked him. His eyes closed and she stroked faster, pushing herself up on her elbow so she could whisper in his ear. “Now fuck me. _Please_ , Dean.”

He moved between her legs then, holding her gaze as he hooked her thighs over his arms, spreading her open for him, and slid into her. She moaned and arched her back, gripping his hips and pulling him closer.

It was slow and much too intimate but for the first time in weeks, Judith’s anxiety disappeared. She didn’t think about anything but his cock inside her, his weight pressing her into the sheets, his lips at her ear, murmuring filth as he fucked her. It felt _good_ , and she knew it was nothing more than the pure physical act, no strings attached. It was liberating.

They lay beside each other afterwards as their breathing slowed, sticky and exhausted. Judith pressed a kiss to his chest, where his heart beat against his ribs, and hugged him. “Thank you.” 

“Feel better now?” She could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Much.” She burrowed closer into his embrace, allowing herself to just drift in the moment. 

After a while, Dean coaxed her to move off his arm and sat up. “They’ll be back soon. We’d better get dressed.” Judith stretched with a hum. She felt boneless, and the bed was much too comfortable. He smiled. “Come on.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet almost effortlessly, and she giggled. 

Sam and Jody returned soon after they had finished dressing, and found Dean on the couch, half-asleep with a pillow covering his face, and Judith in the kitchen preparing sandwiches. Sam dropped the baking pan on Dean’s stomach, who woke with a start. 

“What the hell, Sam?!” 

Jody set her bags on the table with a smile. “You boys look completely worn out. Wanna spend the night? Drive back tomorrow.” 

Judith’s hand stilled where she was spreading mustard on a slice of bread. 

Sam joined Jody at the table, unpacking things. “If you have somewhere we can sleep, why not? Dean?” 

“That would be awesome, actually. I’m dead tired.” He got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, standing too close to Judith as he reached for one of the plates. She shivered as his elbow brushed against hers and looked up at him, mouthing a silent ‘Stop it!’ at him. He smirked and took a bite of his sandwich. 


	17. Getting rid of the competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the boys in this one! They're really so much fun to write. <3
> 
> But this chapter also gave me the biggest trouble. I'm simply not very good at writing action. Hope it's up to par regardless. I also totally pulled the poison bit out of my ass but hey, whatever works. :)

17

“So that's your plan?” Dean scratched the back of his head, dubiously watching Crowley over the top of his beer bottle. The demon had demanded their help with making an example of Balor. Dean had agreed readily, as had Sam, but now he was starting to have serious doubts. “Kill him and hope that scares the rest so much they'll leave Judith alone? What makes you think that's gonna work?”

Crowley lifted his tumbler, swirling the amber liquid inside around. “Because I know how demons think. I'll let you in on a little secret – most are not the brightest crayons in the box. It's basically all one big pissing contest.” He took a sip, closing his eyes in pleasure as the alcohol burned going down. “You just have to draw a line in the sand. Preferably in blood. They'll get the hint.” He smiled darkly. “Added bonus, Balor is removed permanently and thus, one less threat to your precious mankind.”

Sam rubbed a hand over his face. “And how are we going to kill him? According to legend, his grandson killed him with a sling or a spear. Spears we have, but we're a little short on mythical giant killers.”

Crowley smiled. “You've taken down gods before, haven't you?”

“Yeah, but none with such a specific back story.”

“Never mind. I'll figure something out.” He took another sip of whisky.

“Well, you better, and quickly.” Dean set his bottle on the table, his gaze intent. “You can't leave Judith at Jody's forever.” Sam raised his eyebrows, and Crowley narrowed his eyes.

“I don't like your tone, boy.”

Dean laughed. “Tough. Jody hates having her in the house, they barely say two words to each other, and it won't be long until they start fighting.”

Crowley was starting to go slightly red in the face, anger building in his chest. “And what do you propose I do? Bring her here, to your little hideout where everybody who knows me will go look first?” Dean looked away at that. “Do you _honestly_ believe that I enjoy this situation?”

The brothers exchanged a look. Dean shrugged. “I hadn't given that even half a thought until now. I've been a little preoccupied with how unhappy my friend is with this situation, and how absolutely miserable Judith is.” He gave Crowley a hard look. “She wouldn't say anything to you but she misses you. More than is good for her.”

The demon looked away then, his jaw tight. “Are you a couples' counsellor now? My, squirrel, you're just full of surprises.” He downed his whisky, set the tumbler on the table and got up. “Well, as lovely as this little chat turned out to be, I'm afraid I must dash. I'll let you know when we can move forward.” They blinked, and he was gone.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Care to tell me what's going on?” Sam cornered Dean in the kitchen where his brother was working on the dishes, elbows-deep in soap suds.

“What do you mean?”

“Dean, I'm not blind. You slept with Judith.”

Dean stilled, his hands hovering over the dishes in the sink, water dripping down from the sponge he was holding. “No, I didn't.”

“So not only do you think I'm blind, you also think I'm stupid.”

Dean dropped the sponge and wiped his hands on a dish towel. “You got a problem?”

“Hell yeah I got a problem. I usually don't care who you bump uglies with but this is different. It's _dangerous_ , Dean. Crowley will carve out your heart with a spoon if he finds out. Or should I say when? Because he _will_ find out sooner or later.”

Dean sighed deeply, rubbing a hand over his face dejectedly. “I know. Fuck, I know.”

Sam leaned against the counter top, arms crossed in front of his chest. “So what should we do?” He looked at his brother pointedly. “What are _you_ going to do?”

“Right now, my plan is to hope for the best, that he won't find out. I'm not even worried about myself, just about what he'd do to her.”

“That's a really dumb plan.”

“I'm not hearing anything constructive from you, smart ass.”

Sam watched as Dean picked up a dish towel and started drying the glasses he'd cleaned earlier. After a while, he said, “You really care about her.”

Dean looked at him from the corner of his eye, not answering for a long moment. Then, with a deep sigh, “I guess I do.”

“You can't go after her, you know that, right? Crowley will rip you to pieces.”

Dean dropped the dish towel on the counter and walked out, clapping Sam on the shoulder as he walked past him. “Thanks for the encouragement, Sammy.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Three days later, Dean got a call from Crowley, telling him to meet at an abandoned warehouse outside of Twin Falls, Idaho. Sam looked the place up on Google, and Dean groaned. “Can't you just beam us there? That's a 15 hour drive!”

Crowley chuckled. “Well, then you'd better get a move on.” The line went dead.

“Son of a bitch!” Dean shoved his phone into his pocket, and ran a hand through his hair. “I'm gonna need a lot of caffeine.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The warehouse sat alone at the end of a dirt road, surrounded by dead grass and not much else. Dean parked the car a good deal away from it, not wanting to alert whoever turned out to be inside to their presence.

Crowley stood in the middle of the road, waiting for them, hands in his pockets. He pulled out a bottle containing a dark brown liquid when they approached, handing it to Sam. “Took you long enough.”

“Shut it. What's this?” Dean shifted the spears he was carrying to his other arm as he took the bottle from Sam.

“Poison. About 20 times deadlier than strychnine. Very hard to come by. Put that on your little sticks – _very_ carefully, I might add – and Balor should not be a problem.”

“Your faith in this stuff is overwhelming.” Dean handed the bottle back to Sam who unscrewed the top and poured a little over the tip of one of the spears. The ground began smoking where the fluid dripped off the metal, and the boys exchanged a look, shrugging. “Guess this might just work. So what, we just waltz in there?”

Crowley scoffed. “If you want him to rip off your head within five seconds of you walking in, be my guest. Otherwise, let me have a look first.” They blinked and he was gone.

“Limey bastard.” Dean pocketed the bottle, careful not to get any of the stuff on himself. “You think this is gonna work?”

Sam shrugged. “We better hope it does.”

The demon appeared again a minute later. “Hope you boys haven't had dinner yet. It's not pretty in there.”

“We can handle it.”

Crowley cocked his head with a smile. “Yes. I suppose you can. Anyway, I'll distract him. Talking is, after all, what I do best.” He snapped his fingers and they found themselves in a dank hallway. They could see a bigger room up ahead, light falling through the partially open door. The stench of decay hung in the air. Crowley put a finger to his lips and pointed at the room. Sam and Dean nodded, and the demon disappeared. Slowly, they crept up to the door.

Crowley had teleported himself into the large room, opposite the door. Absolute carnage greeted him. The floor was littered with bodies. Some showed no signs of injury, others had quite literally been ripped apart. It reminded him strongly of hell, back before he had taken over.

Balor sprawled on a huge sofa set up in the middle of the room, visible eye closed. His right hand dangled over the edge of the sofa, and smoke from a cigarette clutched between his lips curled into the air. Crowley cleared his throat and the god shot upright.

“Crowley! I was not expecting you here.” Balor rose from the sofa, grinning widely. “Excuse the mess, please. Wasn't prepared for visitors.” He nudged the body of a girl with his foot. “Where's your little lady? I'd like to talk to her again. In depth.” He grinned suggestively.

“Sorry, she's indisposed.” Crowley walked around the body of a young man, over to the wall, leaning against it. “I brought someone else, though.”

Balor cocked his head to the side. “D'you really think I didn't smell them the moment you came in here?” He turned around to face Sam and Dean who head crept into the room, still grinning. “Ah, the Boy King and the Righteous Man. Those were the days, eh? When things were so much simpler. Now you're running with demons and angels alike, I hear.” His face hardened as he spotted the spears they were carrying. “So that's how it's going to be, is it? I'm hurt, really. You don't even know me and just believe that guy?” He pointed at Crowley accusingly.

Dean shrugged. “I really don't care to get to know you.” He gestured at the bodies littering the ground. “I'm seeing all I need to know that you're a monster.” He nodded towards Sam. “And we gank monsters.”

Balor laughed. “Oh, is that why you do the dirty work for the King of Hell these days? First Abaddon, now me? I s'ppose the rumours are true after all.”

“Which rumours?” Sam shifted his stance, gripping the spear tightly.

The god looked from the brothers to Crowley, incredulous. “They don't know?” He laughed again. “Oh, this is truly exquisite! Can I tell them?”

Crowley just looked at him darkly. “Can we get on with it, boys? This is becoming quite tedious.”

Dean and Sam exchanged a look. “What's he talking about, Crowley?”

Balor laughed again. “Honestly, this is the most fun I've had in decades!”

Crowley narrowed his eyes. “Then you'll die in high spirits. What more could you ask for.”

The god smiled widely at Dean. “Word on the street is that you and that Scottish bastard over there are secret lovers.”

Sam snorted a laugh before Dean shot him a withering look. Crowley smirked but said nothing. Dean spun the spear in his hands. “Guess your sources are misinformed.”

Balor waggled a finger at him. “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” He snapped his fingers, disappearing.

“Behind you!” Crowley's warning came a split second too late. Balor had reappeared behind the brothers, and he punched Dean in the ribs so hard he went flying, landing on a pile of bodies.

“Dean!” Balor used Sam being distracted to punch him in the face, and he went down like a sack of potatoes.

All of a sudden, Crowley found himself face to face with a very angry god, and no weapon.

Balor was on him in a flash, shoving him up against the wall with a snarl. “You demons! You have forgotten your place, my friend. You're scum. The rejects of an up-jumped deity.” He pressed his forearm against Crowley's neck, choking him. “Did you really think you could take me down with just those two pretty boys? I have been around for a millennium! As if two boys with sharp sticks could hurt me!”

Crowley smiled, all teeth and satisfaction. “I don't even need two, _old friend_.”

Balor looked confused for a moment, and then he _shrieked_. Dean's spear was jutting from his back, the tip breaking through his chest, narrowly missing Crowley. Blood poured from the god's mouth as he turned his head. Dean had gotten up, his face a grimace of pain as he held onto the spear.

“You…!”

Dean smiled lop-sidedly. “Yeah. Me.” He twisted the spear, and Balor groaned, spitting blood again. His legs gave out under him, and he collapsed to the ground, the spear still jutting from his back. Another laboured breath, and he was dead.

Crowley dusted off his jacket. “That went well, wouldn't you say?”

Dean had limped over to where Sam lay, shaking him. “Sammy? Sam! Wake up!”

The younger man stirred with a groan, opening bleary eyes. “Dean? What happened?”

Crowley chuckled. “Lost a fight with Balor's fist, Moose. Not to worry. Dean took care of it, not-so-witty comeback included.” He clapped his hands once. “Much obliged, boys. You run along now, I'll take care of this mess.” He waved a hand over the bodies, and the dead god.

Dean helped Sam to his feet with a wince. “Do we wanna know what you're gonna do with him?”

Crowley smiled, slow and wide. “Probably not.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The doors to the throne room banged open, mortar showering the demons standing closest. A deadly quiet filled the room, anticipation jumping from one demon to the next. An entrance like this, everyone knew whatever came next was going to be good.

A head bounced through the doors, thrown with great force, and came to rest at the foot of the throne. Crowley strolled in after it, idly inspecting his fingernails as he walked the length of the room and up the steps before he sat on his throne. You could have heard a pin drop.

Crowley smiled at the demons, cocking his head to the side. “You all know who this is.” He turned the head upright with his foot, so they could see the face. “Balor, erstwhile king of the Fomorians. Now a very _dead_ king.” He nudged the head, and it rolled across the stone floor until it came to rest in the middle of the room. “Take note, my friends. This is what happens to you if you threaten what belongs to me.” The demons exchanged nervous looks, and he smiled brightly. “Now toddle off and go do something evil, will you?” His smile vanished. “And tell your friends, and your enemies.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Gersemi/media/769a1a8b-fa55-4f59-869e-b1329c8b00e8_zpsmtnjcddh.png.html)


	18. Reunions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up, boys* and girls*, shit's about to go down.

18

The boys arrived first at Jody's cabin, the car’s engine disturbing the peace of the woods. Judith sat on a bench beneath the kitchen window, watching them pull up to the house. This time, the empty back seat didn’t rattle her.

Dean and Sam got out of the car, Sam walking into the house with nothing more than a wave. His face was bloodied, his lip split open. Judith winced in sympathy. Dean sank down onto the bench next to her with a grunt of pain. She reached for him uncertainly, her fingers hovering over his, before she pressed her hand flat against the bench’s surface, their fingers just barely touching.

If she had been honest with herself, she would have had to admit that she had failed, big time, at keeping things purely physical between them.

“Are you alright?”

He cracked his neck, wincing. “Think I bruised a rib. Nothing I won’t live through.” He smiled lopsidedly.

Judith furrowed her brows. “Let me take a look at that.”

“It’s fine, really. Just a scratch.”

She ignored him and reached for his shirt, pulling it up. An angry bruise was blooming on his ribcage, and he flinched when she prodded it gently. “Yes, that looks broken.”

That cocky smile again. “Ah, just set me up with some ibuprofen and I’ll be good.”

She prodded his side again, less gently now, and he gasped in pain. “Oh, really?”

“That’s playing dirty.”

Judith got up with a smile. “Learned from the best. Come on.” She walked into the house, Dean following with a frown. Sam sat at the kitchen table with an ice pack to his lip. Judith pulled the first-aid kit from beneath the kitchen counter. “I think you need stitches.”

Sam grunted non-committally, and Dean pulled his hand and the ice pack away from his face. “Nah, looks okay.”

Judith rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself.” She motioned at Dean. “Sit.”

He smirked and moved to the couch. “Yes, ma’am.” He pulled his shirt over his head with a hiss of pain and watched as she pulled some bandages out of the kit. “How d’you know how to do this?”

She started wrapping the bandage around his chest, concentration creasing her brow. “I was a volunteer nurse. During Vietnam.” Dean drew in a sharp breath, and she looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I know it hurts.”

Sam had turned around to watch and now let his hand with the ice pack sink to his thigh. “That’s not it. Our father was in Vietnam.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip. “Did he... make it back? All of him, I mean?”

Dean squeezed her thigh, on the couch where Sam couldn’t see. “He did.”

Judith smiled faintly. “That’s good.” She finished wrapping him and secured the whole thing with bandage clips. “There, that should do you. I take it you know how to deal with broken ribs?”

He nodded with a smirk. “Not my first rodeo.”

“Well, isn’t this cosy.”

Judith whirled around. Crowley stood just outside the door, hands deep in his pockets, watching them. “Crowley...” Her voice shook, and she was at the door in an instant, smudging the marks with shaking hands. He stepped over the threshold, his arm winding around her waist.

“Hello, darling.”

She melted into his embrace, basking in his scent. “I’m glad you’re here.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning hard eyes on Dean. “Looks like you got yourself a little Florence Nightingale, squirrel.”

Dean stood and pulled his shirt on again with a grimace. “Took you long enough to get your ass out here.”

“I’m a busy man. Things to tend to, minions to rule, terror to strike in peoples’ hearts. The usual.” Crowley smirked. “Let’s get your things, dear. Time to leave.”

She was acutely aware of Dean’s eyes on her as she led Crowley to her room. Her heart was racing, and she stopped with her hand on the door handle, looking back at the brothers. “Thank you.” She met Dean’s eyes. “For everything.” She turned away and pushed open the door, stepping inside with Crowley at her back.

The door closed quietly behind them and she turned around. There was fatigue in the lines of his face but hunger in his eyes, and she leaned into him with a breathy sigh. “I missed you.”

He laughed darkly. “I’m almost entirely sure you’re the only person who has said that about me in a very long time.” He frowned. “Let me look at you.” He turned her head from side to side. “You’re thinner.”

She shrugged. “Didn’t have much of an appetite.” Her hands slid into his jacket, dragging her fingernails over the fabric of his shirt as she leaned forward, licking along his throat. “I think it’s coming back, though.”

He crowded into her space then, pushing her until she toppled backwards onto the bed with a giggle. He was on top of her the next moment, his erection pressing into her thigh. She wound her arms around his neck, kissing him, and pushed herself against him, her arousal sky-rocketing. Crowley kissed along her jaw and down her neck, pulling her shirt aside to reveal her bite mark. “Beautiful, darling.” He licked along the sensitive new skin, making her shudder beneath him – and froze. She heard him inhale deeply, and fear flashed through her.

“Judith, why do your sheets smell like Dean Winchester?” He drew back, his face calm but murder in his eyes as he looked down at her.

_Shit._ She had forgotten to change the sheets, and of course their scent was all over them. She shrank back, embarrassment flooding her. “I...”

He got off the bed, staring down at her. “So much for trusting you.” He turned away, stalking towards the door, and Judith scrambled off the bed and after him, blocking his path, her back pressed against the door.

“Don’t hurt him. Please.”

His eyes narrowed, and she thought for a moment he would hit her. “And why shouldn’t I?”

She drew in a deep breath, let it out again slowly. “He didn’t do it for another notch on his belt. Or to get back at you.” One slow breath after the other. “He saw that I was alone, and in pain. He offered me a break, and I took what he offered.” She raised a hand, wanted to touch him. It fell limply back to her side. “If you want to hurt someone, punish someone, do it to me.” She stepped aside then, still looking at him.

Crowley stepped forward and locked the door, slowly and deliberately. Another stab of fear went through her. He pushed her against the wall, his mouth at her ear. “Your explanation better be very, very good.” He moved away from her and she felt her body move with him, chasing his warmth. He sat on the bed, watching her silently before he beckoned her closer, letting her come within arm’s reach before he motioned for her to stop. “Tell me.”

And she did, the words tumbling out of her. She couldn’t have held them back if she’d tried. Told him about the first time, when all she had wanted was to feel something beside fear and loneliness. How Dean had slipped into her room later that night and how she had ridden him in the dark until he cursed under his breath and spent himself inside her. About the visit a few days later, when Jody was at work and Sam at the bunker, busy with research, and how Dean had bent her over the kitchen table and fucked her until her hips were bruised from banging into the edge of the table. Had fucked her again in the shower after, with her sandwiched between the cold tiles and his body, the water washing away their juices and her scream when she came.

Crowley listened without interruption, much too calm. When she had finished, he just continued watching her, and she fidgeted under his gaze.

When he spoke, his voice was rough. “Why him?”

Judith swallowed around the lump in her throat. “He... was _there_ , and kind to me when I needed it.” She licked her lips. “That’s all there is to it.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “So should I expect to see you throw yourself at anybody who’s half-nice to you whenever I’m not around?”

She groaned, pressing her hands against her eyes. “That’s not...” She pushed harder, her eyes prickling. “I was...” She looked at him then. “I was _scared_! I didn’t know what was going on! When they drove up to the house and you weren’t with them...” Tears started running down her cheeks. “I thought you were _dead_!” 

He looked genuinely surprised. “You were worried about me?”

“Of course I was! I was beside myself!” Her hands fell to her sides, tears dripping onto her shirt, forming dark patches. “Can’t you tell that I’m in love with you?” Crowley stared at her, speechless for once, and she stepped forward, between his knees, cradling his face in her hands. “I need you. And it scares the living daylights out of me.”


	19. Hell ain’t a bad place to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Crowley Day, everyone! "Abandon All Hope..." aired 7 years ago today, so that seems like an appropriate date to post this.
> 
> I can't say I'm 100% happy with Crowley's reaction here but it'll have to do.
> 
> Enjoy!

**19**

They stared at each other in silence for long moments, Judith’s heart threatening to burst through her ribs with the force of its beating. Neither moved, until Crowley raised a hand to cover Judith’s where it rested against his cheek.

“You foolish girl.”

Judith smiled sadly. “I made a deal with the King of Hell. Of course I’m a fool.”

She blinked, and they were somewhere else, not in the wood-panelled guest room any more. There were shadows everywhere now, dark stone and darker furniture. A desk the size of her bed sat in front of her, Crowley in a chair on the other side, elbows on the desk’s surface and fingers steepled in front of him. He was watching her over the top of them, his expression unreadable.

She looked around. Something moved in the corner, claws clacking on the stone floor. A shiver went up her spine, the hair on the back of her neck rising. Every cell in her body was screaming at her to run. Crowley moved a hand in the direction of the sound, and whatever had moved settled down again. He was still watching her, gauging her reaction.

“I suppose we’re in hell.”

He inclined his head. “Not what you expected.”

“There’s less fire.” She smiled shakily. “Crowley...”

He held up a hand, interrupting her. “I won’t even pretend that I don’t mind your little... indiscretion. I do. I mind it em>very much.” He looked down at the desk for a moment before he met her eyes again. “How can you be sure that this,” he motioned at the darkness, lingering just at the edge of one’s vision, and then at himself, “is what you want?”

Sighing deeply, Judith walked around the desk, taking his hands in hers and placing them on her hips. “Someone told me that ‘the heart wants what it wants’. I know you’re not a good person. I’m not deluding myself, I know there are no white pickets fences and a golden retriever in our future.” He cracked a smile at that, and the _something_ moved in the corner again. “And I don’t want that. I want _you_ , with all your flaws and darkness.”

Crowley looked slightly offended. “You think I have flaws?”

She had to laugh then, and bent down to kiss him, full of longing and desperation. He met her half-way, pulling her against him and into his lap. She was breathless when they parted, smiling. “I think you’re the most flawed man I have ever met.”

He smirked against her lips, his hand moving up her back to settle on her neck. “And yet, you want me?” She breathed her answer into his mouth before she kissed him again, and his grip on her tightened. Breathing deeply, he nuzzled her cheek. “Oh, you stupid, beautiful girl.” 

Crowley coaxed her off his lap and took her hand, leading her to a door tucked away in an alcove. Behind it lay the most lavish bedroom Judith had seen in probably a century. The bed was quite frankly enormous, a huge four-poster of darkly polished oak, draped with thick, richly ornamented velvet. The walls were panelled with the same dark wood, and a glittering chandelier hung from the ceiling.

Judith had to smile. “Never would've taken you for someone who is into the whole Victorian chic.”

He led her to the bed with a chuckle. “I sort of… inherited this from my predecessor. He was crazy about this stuff. Never got around to redecorating.” She sat and he took her face in his hands, studying her.

She felt a strange sort of warmth spread through her. It felt as though her were looking right at her soul, that he could see her for who she really was – the colossal fool who had been stupid enough to lose her heart to the king of all demons. It scared her breathless. “Crowley...”

“I need you to understand something, darling. I'm not in the habit of trusting anyone with the shrivelled remains of my humanity. My heart and soul, if you will.”

Judith laughed softly. “You big romantic.”

“Do try and be serious, please.” His smile betrayed his serious tone. “I will forgive your little transgression with everyone's favourite Winchester, under the premise that it will _never_ happen again. Otherwise, I'll have to remove his spine through his mouth.”

She made a face. “That's a vivid image.”

Crowley leaned down, brushing his lips along hers. “Kind of the point, sweetheart.”

Her hands came up, grasping the lapels of his jacket and pulling him closer. “I promise it will never happen again. I'm sure Dean can be a bit of a cad but he knows not to expect anything but friendship from me.”

“Your faith in him may be slightly misplaced.” His voice had dropped almost to a whisper, and delicious heat pooled in Judith's belly as he slid his hands down her neck and over her shoulders. “Besides, what is the point to life if not for a little senseless violence?”

She smiled, gliding her hand up his leg and palming his burgeoning erection through his trousers. “I'm sure I can think of something.”

He growled and pushed her so she fell backwards, sprawling on the duvet. She smirked up at him as she ran her hands along her sides and up to her breasts, stroking her nipples through her shirt. Crowley's eyes narrowed and he reached up, loosening his tie and pulling it off. “Hands.” She looked at him, wide-eyed, until she understood. She raised her hands and he wound the tie around her wrists, just tight enough to be slightly uncomfortable. Judith pulled, testing how much give the silk offered. She winced as the edges of the fabric cut into her skin, the black contrasting starkly with her white skin.

Crowley, meanwhile, had pulled her skirt down her legs and was stroking a hand up her calf. “You know, I'm thinking that maybe I'm letting you off the hook far too easily here.” His fingers slid along the inside of her thigh, making her shiver. “Maybe you need to be taught a lesson.” His eyes had darkened, and the way he was looking down at her made her feel very much like the proverbial rabbit being stared down by a hungry snake. “What do you think, pet? Do you think you deserve a punishment?”

Her tongue felt strangely thick in her mouth, and she had to swallow heavily before she could answer. It came out far breathier than she intended, “Yes.”

He flipped her over with a growl, her bound hands becoming trapped beneath her, and stroked her butt through her pants. “I just realised that I've sorely neglected this part of you. That's a damn shame if you ask me.” His fingers dug into her flesh, making her wince. He chuckled. “I promise I won't make it completely unpleasant for you.” His voice was gravel clad in velvet, and she shifted under his hand, arousal spreading through her. He continued stroking her through her pants, and she felt her heart rate going up in anticipation.

And then his hand left her before coming back down with a smack, making her yelp, more in surprise than pain. The next hit followed immediately on the other cheek, and she gasped at the heat blossoming on her skin.

This was entirely new to her. She had been spanked as a child, well into her teens in fact, but this – this was _different_ in every way. Being with Crowley had taught her pretty quickly that she liked things rough, but spanking had been so tied up with her father and his punishments over petty things that she had never entertained the notion of actually liking it in a sexual context.

As it turned out, she liked it a great deal indeed. Crowley was chuckling, rubbing her heated skin as she pressed herself against the mattress.”It probably shouldn't surprise me that you enjoy this.” He sat next to her and leaned down, his breath brushing along her cheek. “Let's see how much you can take, yes?”

His next hit came lower, almost on her thigh, and the sting made her eyes water. He was counting now, and Judith grit her teeth as each hit hurt just a little more than the one before. By ten, she was panting, and he stopped. “Lovely, sweetheart. Now let's try without these.” He hooked his fingers into her pants and pulled. She had to lift her butt off the mattress so her could remove the garment, and she squealed when suddenly his lips were on her, his tongue leaving a hot trail on her inflamed skin.

“Crowley...” 

His hand moved between her legs, and whatever she had been going to say vanished from her mind. Two fingers slid into her, finding her embarrassingly wet. He chuckled, his beard rubbing against her and making her wince. “My, somebody is _really_ enjoying this.” His fingers moved faster and she moaned into the duvet, arching her back. “I don't think I'll ever get tired of how eager you are, pet.” He moved back, his fingers still buried in her, and smacked her again. She yelped, and he resumed counting, alternating sides and still fucking her. By 17, she was crying earnestly but when he asked if she wanted him to stop, she shook her head, clenching around his fingers. She made it to 24 before she gasped out a plea for him to stop. Her skin was on fire.

Crowley slowly pulled his fingers free and laid down next to her, propped up on his arm, and stroked her back softly, soothingly, as she sobbed into the duvet. “That was very good, sweetheart. I'm proud of you.”

They stayed like that for a while as Judith's sobs slowly died down, and when she turned her head to the side to look at him, she was smiling softly. She rolled away from him so she laid on her back, looking up at him, her pupils blown so wide her eyes seemed almost black. She licked her lips. “So are you going to fuck me or what?”

Judith expected him to be demanding, for it to be hard and fast. But he took his time, kissing her until she trembled beneath him, and when he finally pushed into her, she was almost crying with need. When he loosened the tie binding her hands and flipped them over, she kissed him, hard, and rode him until she collapsed with exhaustion, his groaned, “ _Mine_ ,” ringing in her ears as he spilled himself into her.

Her fingernails had left half-moon shaped wounds on his biceps, blood welling up in glistening droplets, and she leaned down, running her tongue over them. He stared down at her. “Don't do that, love.” Something flashed in his eyes. “You don't want that inside of you.”

She closed her lips around the wounds in answer, sucking hard. He groaned, his eyes slipping closed. Judith released his arm then, cupping his cheek. “You had mine. Now I have yours.” She drew herself up, lips stained with red, and kissed him. She sighed when they parted. “I don't know much about blood magic but that must be significant somehow.”

He chuckled lowly. “You have no idea.”

She rolled off his chest and burrowed into his embrace, her breathing slow and even. Breathing deeply, he leaned down, brushing his lips along her forehead. “Don't tell anyone but I think I just might be in love with you as well.”

Judith's grip on him tightened and a small smile appeared on her lips.

They were going to have one hell of a time.

**END**


	20. Epilogue

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Gersemi/media/judithsletter_zpsha6xhg3f.jpg.html)

> _Dear Dean,_
> 
> _I do not have words to express my gratitude for what you have done for me. You hardly know me but you risked your life to help me._
> 
> _I will forever be in your debt._
> 
> _Please give my love to Sam._
> 
> _Your friend forever,_
> 
> _Judith_
> 
> _P.S.: He knows._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap!
> 
> Thank you a thousand times to everyone who read, commented, left kudos. Consider yourself hugged and kissed!
> 
> This has turned into a three-part series along the way. The sequel to this which will be out sometime soon, so maybe stay tuned for that! :)


End file.
